Unexpected Encounter
by The Small But Powerful One
Summary: When you wake up to a knocking on your door only to find it's Gandalf, a character you have only ever read about you can't help but be surprised. This is my journey from then till now. Please be nice this is my first Fanfiction. Please read and REVIEW!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: This is not mine it is all property of Tolkien. 

**AN: Sorry but I know I will be switching tenses a lot I really can't help it. This is my first story so please read and tell me what you think. The chapters will get longer so keep reading. I want to give a shout out to windofawhisper who is the best beta because she points out all of my many mistakes. Thanks Please Read and REVIEW!!!!**

Prologue

I woke up to apersistent knocking at my door. The knocking wasn't the strange part it was the fact that no one had answered it yet. Growing up with two sisters, a brother, and both parents I was had been use to the fact that if someone had the chance to knock on the door more than twice something was wrong. I had hurried to pull my robe on before running down stairs to answer the door. That was when I got a good look out the window and saw that the sky was still dark. You see in England at that time of year the sun usually came up around six. Who was at the door before six?

Rubbing my eyes to get rid of the residual sleep, I glanced out the window to see a large black shadow. I felt a shiver of apprehension run down my back, my hairs stand on end. I went to the door and looked out and saw something I never expected to see… ever.

Standing there on the other side of my door was Gandalf.

I blinked in disbelief, pinched myself and looked again.

Yes, standing there was, Gandalf the White. I opened the door and that's when the thought hit me. No wonder none of this makes sense, I'm dreaming. What a disappointment this was so exciting.

"Come with me my child." Gandalf said right after I opened the door.

"What?!" was all I had time to say before I was pulled through the door into the light…


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is not mine it is all property of Tolkien. 

**AN: So I know that the first chapter was really short but they should be longer from now on. Hope you all like this and read more. Please read and REVIEW!!!! By the way all the stuff in italics is what she's thinking.**

Chapter 1

I was pulled through the doorway where I saw a flash of white light and then I was suddenly standing in a forest. I saw Gandalf standing next to me before he walked over towards a large tree with a long white staff leaning against it. I was in a place I've read of many times, the heart of Fangorn Forest. It was like a dream come true to be in the place where Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli see Gandalf for the very first time since he fell in Moria. Then it hits me, I was in Middle Earth.

I toke some time to study the things around me, from the worn brown rowan trees to the gently filtered green light from the leaves.

That was when I noticed that I was no longer wearing my green robe and smiley pajamas, now I was wearing a pale green tunic and matching breeches that were quite baggy and seemed to be made from cotton like fabric.

Before I knew it Gandalf was leading me at a swift pace through the trees. We soon arrived at a small meadow that seemed to be a perfect circle and Gandalf simply said, "Wait here." My breathing rapidly sped up as I realized I would be here alone. He must have sensed my reaction because he immediately turned around to reassure me and said, "Do not fret you are safe as long as you stay in this meadow." I know I should have been reassured but I was still a little paranoid. I usually am when I'm alone and my brother and sister make fun of me for it. _What will they think when they wake up and I'm not there? _

And then I realized he had left while I was thinking, it was several minutes before Gandalf returned with Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli trailing behind him. Legolas saw me and immediately raised his brow towards Gandalf with a questioning look in his eyes. It is something really surreal seeing characters you only ever imagined existed. They were not like those actors in the movies oh no they were how I had pictured them when I first read the books.

These were the faces I could still remember; Aragorn had shoulder length dark brown hair and warm brown eyes with a spark of knowledge in them. He didn't have the opposing height Gandalf had but he was still quite tall at what I would guess was five foot eleven inches. Legolas was very obviously an elf because he had very pointy ears that were shown off by the bleach blond braids that held his hair behind his head. His hair was probably half way down his back from what I guessed. He loomed over me at a height that I would assume was nearly six foot nine inches. Compared to my four foot ten inches he was a giant. I was surprised to see that even Gimli was taller than me. He could have been at least five foot two inches which was much taller that the height I would have guessed a dwarf would be. He had scarlet hair that hung a little longer than his shoulders. His beard was almost exactly the same length. I wondered if he did that on purpose.

Gandalf then raised his hand and said, "There is no need, she is with me." He then motioned to me and said, "Come here Essandora."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" I replied confused. I didn't understand anything why was he at my house? How does he know my name? Why am I here?

"All will be explained soon." he replied easily. "Let me introduce you to my friends."

Pointing out each he said, "This is Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli."

"I know." My statement immediately startled all three of the men. I didn't really think before I answered so I wasn't sure if I should have said that.

"How do you know me?" Said Aragorn and before I could reply Gandalf cut me off and said something that shocked everyone in the clearing, "Why she is the daughter of one of my dear friends."

"What?" I blurted out without thinking.

"We were forced to hide you soon after your birth because if Saruman knew my friends had a daughter he surely would have used you against us so I hid you till all was safe."

"You think now is safe when the war is on your doorstep?" I replied.

"I am afraid that no where is safe, my dear girl, and I needed you"

"Why I'm just a normal seventeen year old girl?"

"Your family is very powerful and much will be revealed soon that will change your life."

"I will not be some pawn in your game of dominance."

He replied before I got a chance to think. "You are my friend's daughter and I wished not to use you but to help you because I knew that on the day you had lived eighteen winters you would no longer be safe because Saruman would be able to find you."

"But my birthday isn't for a few more weeks."

"I knew that you would appear to Saruman when you had lived eighteen winters and I knew that your parent's trusted me with your safety and would want me to make sure you were safe."

"Who are my parent's, these friends you keep speaking of?"

"That will all be revealed in due time." Gandalf said.

"You speak in riddles!"

"And so it shall stay until the time is right." He murmured under his breath. He then began leading us through the trees.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This is not mine it is all property of Tolkien. 

**AN: Thanks for reading! Special shout out to windofawhisper thanks for being an amazing beta. Everyone should go and read her story it's amazing. I was hooked after the first chapter. Please read and REVIEW!!!!**

Chapter 2

You know where the story goes after that. There is a journey through part of the forest and I have to tell you traveling through a forest in only a tunic and a pair of breeches is one of the worst things I have ever done in my life. I was freezing the entire time we were walking and I tripped a lot. I also realized on this journey that my allergies did come with me because I was almost non stop sneezing and my noose was running so much I was forced to wipe it on the hem of my shirt. We soon arrived at the edge of Fangorn Forest where as you know Gandalf called for the horses. But to my shock there were four horses that arrived. Shadowfax led them for he is of course the lord of all horses. Trailing him were the two horses from Rohan that Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli had been riding before I met them. The horse at the back was the one I had not been expecting; it was a small palomino mare. Some how I felt I knew her, and I know she felt the same because she immediately came towards me and nuzzled my hand. At that small touch I knew that Gandalf spoke true when he had told me of my power over people because when she touched me I could tell she was completely at ease with my presence.

"I remember you but I don't know why." As soon as I said that all four of my companions looked at me and Gandalf's face broke out into a large smile and he said, "So you remember Honeydew? I had a feeling you would."

I then questioned, "How could you know that I knew her?"

His quick reply immediately made me feel very stupid. "Because of what you said I guessed what you were speaking of."

Then he simply stated. "But we have little time to delay we must ride out."

It was while we were riding towards Rohan that Aragorn drew up beside me and asked a very simple question, "Who are you?"

"Didn't you hear what Gandalf was saying before?"

"Yes, but you seemed as surprised as we were. So how do we know it's true?" He asked intently.

"I am not a spy and this is all new to me too."

"Who were you before?" Legolas added.

It seemed so simple and a few hours earlier I could have responded in a heart beat but now my world was in turmoil so I simply replied, "I don't know."

Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli all gave me strange looks but Gandalf was too far in the front to have heard Aragorn's question.

Legolas was the first to respond, "How is that possible."

"I don't know but yesterday I was a normal seventeen year old girl who lived in the real world and now I'm apparently the daughter of a wizard I use to read about and I'm travelling with some of my favorite fantasy characters."

Gimli simply grunted but Legolas replied to my statement.

"We are in the real world and we are real people not just some characters." Legolas insisted.

"I don't know anything anymore." I said on the verge of tears. I was not usually one to cry but this day had been very strange and I was becoming very emotional.

Aragorn was soon giving me a comforting smile and I could tell he was being sincere.

He replied by saying, "I can tell Gandalf was right because you remind me of someone but I cannot tell who."

We rode till nightfall then stopped to camp for the night. I huddled near the fire soon realizing that only wearing a thin tunic and breeches and sitting near a fire was still not very warm. The next thing I knew there was a silver cloak resting on my shoulders that had not been there before. I looked around to see who was there but Gimli was the only one near me and he was sleeping very deeply. I was pondering this when I realized that there was someone else, it was Aragorn. I decided that the only reason he could have snuck up behind me was because of his skills as a ranger. He silently handed me a small white bow that fit perfectly in my hand and a quiver of silver tipped arrows that he told me Legolas could teach me to use. Then I saw at my side there was also something there that I hadn't expected, a small silver dagger attached to a braided silver rope belt. I quickly put it on. Then stared at Aragorn in confusion and asked, "Where did you get these?"

"I always keep extra weapons on me at all times just to be safe and Gandalf used his magic to make them an appropriate size for you."

"Thank you Aragorn."

"I would not see you helpless." He said before he left to speak with Gandalf.

Then I went to find Legolas with my small bow. I soon found him and he readily agreed to teach me. I knew I didn't really need to be taught because my grandpa had taught me how to use a bow when I was fourteen but I hadn't practiced in a while so I didn't want to mention anything to Legolas. We went out a little ways from camp where he showed me how to hold the bow and how to draw the arrow back. When I finally aimed for the tree he pointed out I released and the arrow hit the center of the tree trunk. After a few more tries with the exact same outcome he had me try shooting from different places. Before long Legolas came over to me and said, "It appears you do not need to be taught how to use a bow your skill is already amazing. If you wish to learn how to use that dagger Aragorn may be able to help you for I have no more to teach you."

Aragorn immediately agreed to help and found that I could use the dagger or small sword a lot worse that the bow. In fact I couldn't really use it at all and I had managed to cut myself a few times. I headed over towards the fire again and wished I had a bed, by the time I made it to the edge of the fire there was a small bed roll with a light grey blankets laying atop it. I would have to remember to thank Aragorn tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry but I know I will be switching tenses a lot I really can't help it.

Disclaimer: This is not mine it is all property of Tolkien. 

Chapter 3

The next day we reached Edoras as the sun reached its full height in the sky. Edoras looked like a single hill that sprang up into the middle of a vast plain. There was a wall of wood surrounding the hill and inclosing the city and as we neared the gate a single white figure could be seen standing on the hill top by a large golden building. This figure I knew was Éowyn. We entered through the gate and saw something none of us had been expecting, a hidden land where all the people were frightened and sad. The people looked underfed, miserable and afraid. I did not blame them. As we rode towards the top of the hill we drew many people's gazes.

As we climbed the steps towards the hall a small group of soldiers came out of the hall and stopped us dead in our tracks and said, "I can not allow you before Théoden, King so armed Gandalf Stormcrow… by order of Gríma Wormtongue."

Gandalf immediately motioned for us to hand our weapons over to the soldiers and I could tell by the looks on the soldiers faces that they had not expected me to have weapons. The only women of Middle-Earth who carried weapons were elves and they could easily see I was not an elf.

When the leader of the soldiers asked for Gandalf's staff, he replied casually, "You would not part an old man from his walking stick." The leader frowned but let us through. I nearly believed him when he said it.

As we entered the hall, I was firstly taken aback by the rich surroundings and then by the number of people in the hall. The shadows of the hall were depressing compared to the bright white of outdoors, and it took a second for me to take everything in. Hostility and tension was in the air all along the very hall, and it did not escape my notice that a group of rough looking men were matching our advances. The aged stones of the floor and honeyed, rich colors of banners and carved wood looked miserable in this atmosphere.

My gaze pushed past all this when I heard the sound of our steps echoing along the floor, catching sight of…well, a king who looked in all ways like a dried up apricot. Along side of him, a greasy, water-rat of a human being in dark robes murmured in his ear. I felt my flesh crawl as his pale eyes cast toward us. He looked very evil and pale, as if he had just recently crawled out from under a boulder.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden King." Gandalf's hearty voice, raised in octave, sounded about us. We all dropped back a few paces, allowing the wizard forward.

"…He's not welcome." I heard Gríma murmur.

A dry wheeze, like sandpaper, breathed past the lips of the tired-looking Théoden. "Why should I… welcome you, Gandalf…? Stormcrow?"

"A just question, my liege." Gríma purred. He then turned, slithering toward Gandalf much like a predator that sees its prey.

"Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear. Lathspell spell I name him. Ill news is an ill guest!"

"Be silent!" Gandalf snapped, iron in his tone, and "Keep your forked tongue behind you teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm!" To make good on the promise that it was no mere idle threat, he raised his staff toward Gríma.

"His staff!" He moaned shrilly, backing away from Gandalf while addressing the guards, "I told you to take the wizard's staff!"

Then the tough looking band then leapt toward us, intent on bloodshed. Aragorn grabbed me, forcing me behind him in the wake of battle. Nervously, I stumbled back, knowing better than to argue. A fistfight broke out, the men hedged around me in order to protect me.

More words were spoken, but I was finding it difficult to pay attention. Especially when all of a sudden someone grasped my hair. Reacting on instinct, I kicked out behind me, catching whoever it was in the groin. This caught Aragorn's momentary stare, staring wide eyed at my actions before resuming skillfully executed movements. I nearly rolled my eyes.

I then spun around quickly, thanking god that I was flexible enough to dodge and weave, if nothing else. I tripped another guy by kicking him in the back of the knee, skirting around him hurriedly.

Noise tapered off, and everyone fell back. An eerie laugh, croaking from the back of what I doubted was Théoden's throat, pierced through.

"…You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey!" As if provoked, Gandalf threw back his grey cloak, exuding blinding white light. I squinted at my companions. Théoden was thrown back against the wood of his throne so that it groaned in cracking protest. His cry was drowned out by Gandalf, power dripping thickly in his words.

"I will draw you, Saruman, as poison is drawn from a wound." A rustling sound, brushing fabric, made me turn. Éowyn had rushed in, taking in the scene, and launched herself toward her supposedly threatened uncle. However, Aragorn was quicker, holding her back as he whispered urgently.

"…Wait."

"If I go. . . Théoden dies." That voice…a chill ran through my blood. Reacting quickly, Gandalf moved his staff in a sharp gesture, causing Théoden to thwack painfully back against the chair once more.

"You did not kill me, you will not kill him!" he grit out harshly.

"Rohan is mine!"

"Be gone!!"

Théoden lunged at Gandalf. The

The king slumped forward, weighted down from the broken, traumatic spell. Éowyn rushed forward to her uncle's side, catching his shoulder in desperation. Théoden slowly raised his head, the years seeming to melt away. He now resembled less like an apricot, and more like the king that he might have been. Clarity and recognition returned to his eyes, making me feel slightly more at ease.

He looked now toward his niece, as if nothing else existed in the entire world, "I know your face." He breathed quietly, "Éowyn… Éowyn…" Tears glittered within her eyes, and she wept in joy.

"Gandalf…?" The wizard smiled, speaking pleasantly.

"Breathe the free air again, my friend." The hall almost looked brighter, and the soldiers looked awed at the change in their king.

Théoden stood, his words full of regret and wondering, "Dark have been my dreams of late." His hands trembled, and he looked to their betrayal of his perceived frailty.

"Your fingers would remember their old strength better" Gandalf advised, "... if they grasped your sword." One of his soldiers rushed forward with blade they were speaking of, offering it to his king with hope kindled in his face. Théoden reached for it with trembling hands, his will lending him the necessary strength. He wrapped his fingers around it slowly, as one might savor a beloved's touch, and then drew it. His gaze could not be torn from the sword of his ancestors, the sword of Rohan.

At least until his eyes fell to Gríma…


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: I found it! I found it! Sorry it has taken so long to find but I did, finally. I'm also sorry this chapter is shorter than most. But thanks for reading anyways. I'll try to make up for that in the next one but I can't guarantee anything. Everyone please read and REVIEW!!! I really appreciate it when you do. This chapter has only been read by me so please point out any mistakes. Thanks**

**-Jac**

Chapter 4

It was right before Théodred's funeral when I finally met Éowyn. I had gone looking for Gandalf, because I wanted my weapons back and I needed to find a place to change and something to change in to. As I rounded the corner I nearly bumped into a tall beautiful woman with long wavy blond hair.

"I'm so sorry I didn't see you." I said quickly. When I finally got a good look at her I saw that it was Éowyn. I recognized her immediately because of her blond hair that I had never heard of anyone in Middle Earth except elves having. She was easily six feet tall so I had to really tilt my head to look at her.

"Do not worry. Wait, you look familiar do I know you?" She asked.

"Well I don't believe we have met but I am one of Gandalf's companions." I replied earnestly.

"You must be mistaken for Gandalf has only male companions and you look to young to travel with them."

"I really am his companion and I'm nearly eighteen." I am very use to people getting by age wrong. I have always assumed that it is because of my size. The worst time this happened was when my little sister was having her birthday party. One of her friend's mom's came over to me and said, "Oh, you must be the birthday girl." My sister was turning ten and I was fourteen.

"Well, I must go make sure with Gandalf there are lots of spies lurking near here. Sorry but after my uncle being put under a spell it is kind of hard to trust anyone. If you don't mind could you please come with me?"

We went over to Gandalf and before Éowyn could open her mouth Gandalf had started talking, "Essa, I've been looking for you. Here are your weapons and you need to change into something more suitable for a funeral. I'm sure Éowyn here could help you find something."

"So this is indeed your traveling partner?" Éowyn asked cautiously.

"But of course."

Talking to me now she said, "Well then you can come with me and I will help find you something suitable to wear."

"I don't think that will be a problem." Gandalf said before winking at me. This surprised me because I wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean.

When we made it to her chambers she immediately demanded an explanation for Gandalf' strange comment and why he winked at me, "What was that all about?"

"I have absolutely no idea." I explained quickly because I honestly wasn't sure why he had said that.

"Oh I see it is another of Gandalf's riddles. We must ask him about that tomorrow." she said. I sincerely hoped she forgot to ask because I had a feeling that I would not like Gandalf's answer.

She was then able to help me find a gown that would be suitable for her cousin's funeral. It was a black empire waist dress with silver leaves embroidered on the bodice. It was a little too big because there wasn't anyone nearly as small as me in Edoras. I was use to this because I had always had trouble finding clothes that fit me right. The look just made it seem more flowing and made me look taller so I was happy. When I asked about her relationship with her cousin she suddenly looked at me with wide eyes. I could tell she was just shocked and quite sad because I knew from the books that she had been quite close with her cousin and would miss him terribly. I gave her a timid smile but I could tell from her expression that she was too shocked to say anything. I quickly apologized for mentioning anything that would make her feel sad. The rest of the time we spent together we did not speak of what had happened but we soon became friends when she offered to do my hair. I readily excepted because I loved it when people did my hair. She tied it up in a neat bun that was some what like an old fashion school teacher hair do. It was very different from how I usually kept my hair down curling loosely around my shoulders. Not that I didn't think it looked good and very appropriate for a funeral.

We had a little while before the funeral so we just sat and talked for a while.

"So how did you join Gandalf's group in the first place?" Éowyn asked but I could see she was being careful to judge my reaction to make sure she didn't ask a question I wasn't willing to answer.

I quickly answered, "He came to my house to get me." It was true but I had left out facts like that I had been in an utterly different world.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: I'm putting these both out because it's been so long and I feel bad but neither this one or the one before it have been edited so please point out mistakes. Thanks! Yes I know this is another short chapter but the next few will all be building up to the battle at Helms Deep and then some longer ones after that so don't be mad. The next chapter should be much longer so do not despair. Please read this and review. If you do review I just want to say thanks and I want you to know that I really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing.**

**-Jac**

Chapter 5

Not long after the funeral a small girl and her brother appeared. The girl appeared to be about six and her brother looked about ten or eleven. Their village had been pillaged and burned by the hill folk who claim allegiance to Sauroman. Their mother had told them to ride here and warn someone that other villages may have been attacked. She kept asking for her mother who she said told her she would see them there.

Gandalf spoke to Théoden of what he should do with this new information. Gandalf and Aragorn both recommended a full out war. Théoden did not like this idea because he did not want to bring further hurt to his people. He decided that instead he would take his people to the refuge of Helms Deep in the mountains.

It was early the next morning when Gandalf announced that he would be leaving to find the Riders of Rohan who had been banished while Théoden's mind was controlled by Saruman. He had a feeling that with the help of them we would have a greater chance of winning the war. It was a sad parting. I may have only known Gandalf for a little under a week but I felt truly connected to him now that I knew the real Gandalf and more about him than just what I had read in the books. I had realized since meeting him that they had left out a lot of information about his life in the books. I couldn't wait till we would be able to meet again.

I had begun spending most of my time with Éowyn so we were now close friends and I was able to witness one of my favorite scenes in the Lord of the Rings. I saw the first time Aragorn saw Brego. The day that Gandalf left was the same one that Aragorn met Brego. I could tell from the first instance that his connection with Brego could be compared to my feelings for Honeydew or of Gandalf's feelings for Shadowfax. When he told Éowyn to set Brego free I was shocked because I had simply assumed that he would take Brego as his own horse.

Éowyn and I had spent almost all of our time together since I had met her. There were several reasons for this such as the fact that she was the only girl I knew here but more importantly we had so much in common. We both could fight and we would often spend a lot of time fencing and challenging each other to little contests. We also spent a lot of time talking about things that didn't really matter but we always had fun. We would explore outside of the hall and race around like small children. This was really fun because I had never really gotten along well with my sisters so this was all pretty new. But I loved spending time with her and it seemed almost like we were meant to be sisters. We obviously looked nothing alike because she was tall, blond and fit while I was short, petite and have dark brown hair. From looking at us you would think we were completely different but we had very similar personalities.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Hope you all like this it's got some action in it and it's longer than usual to make up for the last two being really short. Please read and review I would really appreciate it. Sorry it has been so long but here it is the next chapter, enjoy!  
**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 6

It was the next day that we started out for Helms Deep. It would be a long trek across the plains so I decided to let someone less able to walk the long distance ride Honeydew. It ended up being an old man who had been wounded by an orc when he was younger and now had trouble with his left leg. His name was Arthur. This was a very normal name from our world as you will know but here it was very unusual. He was very kind and spent a long time telling me about his son and daughter in law and their three year olds on whom he loved every bit as much as a grandfather should. They lived in Bree which I knew was very far away so he didn't get to see them very much. We spent a lot of time talking and joking around because I had no one else to talk to. Éowyn had to ride by her uncle because of her status or something that we thought was absolutely ridiculous. I didn't really mind because I knew she didn't really have a choice in the matter.

We had been traveling for a day and half and should be reaching Helms Deeps in a few hours. I was now riding with near Aragorn and the king because the king thought I shouldn't be left with the peasants. I never really thought he would be one of those people who was so obsessed with everyone acting their status and such but I didn't have the nerve to turn him down. I felt really bad about leaving Arthur back behind but he had assured me that it was no problem and quickly struck up a conversation with another man. I still felt bad for leaving him behind but I kept reminding myself that it could have been much worse, I could have just left without even saying anything.

"It is true you don't see many dwarf women. It is because we are so alike in speech and appearance that rumors have spread that there are no dwarf women and dwarves just sprout from the ground!" said Gimli as he talked with Éowyn.

Éowyn looked back at Aragorn and he motioned with his hands and whispered to her. "It's the beards," he said with a smile making Éowyn giggle and turn her attention back ahead of her.

While Gimli was talking with Éowyn, Gimli's horse decided to sprint of ahead and knocked Gimli from the ground causing him to fall hard on his butt. Everyone laughed once they realized that he was alright and Éowyn ran to his side to help him up. Éowyn looked back at the king, Aragorn and I smiling.

"It is good to see my niece laugh again. It has been some time since I have seen her smile," the king said to Aragorn who nodded. After a little while longer I heard something in the distance, and I saw Aragon's eyes shot ahead.

"Aragorn," I said quietly. He turned to me and looked questioningly.

"There is…" I began but was cut off when a scream was heard. I looked in the direction and Aragorn ran over to see what was happening.

I heard Legolas shout to Aragorn. "A scout!" Legolas screamed and my heart began to pound. _We're being attacked!_ I paused to collect myself for a moment when it hit me. _Orcs! We're being attacked by the orcs on those hyena things!_ I watched as Aragorn mounted his horse and Gimli was getting up onto his horse. Aragorn turned and looked at me.

"Essa go with Lady Éowyn. Help lead the people onto Helms Deep!" Aragorn shouted and turned his horse to run ahead. I had wanted to protest but he was already too far ahead for him to hear me even if I was shouting.

Éowyn and I spent the rest of the trip worrying for our friends. We were only at Helms Deep before the men began to return. Once they reached the fortress, Éowyn and I ran down to them to welcome the few soldiers that returned. We scanned over them, and I saw there were tears in Éowyn's eyes.

"So few… So few of you have returned," she said her voice shaky. Théoden looked at her as he dismounted. I could see the sorrow in his eyes and knew something was wrong.

"We fought and have paid for it with many lives," he said as he helped a soldier dismount. He turned from her and made his way up the stairs. Legolas helped Gimli off of their horse and Gimli walked over to Éowyn.

"Maladies," he said and Éowyn and I looked at him, Éowyn's tears threatening to fall.

"Lord Aragorn, where is he?" she asked. Gimli fought back tears and sighed.

"He fell." Gimli walked away and the tears finally fell from her eyes. I was forced to leave so that no one would witness my tears falling. I couldn't believe I had forgotten something like this. I didn't remember Aragorn dieing. If I had remembered I could have warned him and he never would have left. I should have known this was going to happen. But then a thought hit me in the movie and book he would later return but I didn't dare to hope and risk jinxing it. I didn't know how much my presence here would affect the events soon to occur.

We had been handing out food and blankets when Legolas came to us and asked where he could find Gimli. He left but soon came back and quickly made his way to the patio where he spoke with Éowyn and I. When Aragorn came walking his way a cheerful smile graced his face and I could tell he was overjoyed to have his friend back. He blocked Aragorn's path and when Aragorn saw him he smiled.

"Le abdollen. (You're late)" He looked over Aragorn and glanced back at his face. "You look terrible." Aragorn laughed and put his hand on Legolas' shoulder. Legolas did the same. Aragorn made to leave him when Legolas stopped him. Aragorn looked at him and questioned him with his eyes. Legolas held out the Evenstar and Aragorn's eyes went wide. He took it from Legolas and smiled.

"Hannon le. (Thank you)" Aragorn said with a smile. Both man and elf were unaware of the woman watching them with happy eyes as they turned and walked back into the hall to speak with Theoden. Éowyn and I watched as both Aragorn and Legolas entered the hall and smiled. Legolas paused a moment and Aragorn looked at him.

"What is wrong?"

"How did you get back alive?" Legolas asked.

"A horse by the name of Brego came to my rescue." Aragorn answered.

"Is that not the horse from Rohan." Legolas questioned.

"It is indeed." Aragorn responded before going into the hall.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: This is all going to be leading up to a chapter with lots of action so please forgive me of the fact that it will be quite short. Please read this chapter and tell me what you think. I love REVIEWS but I haven't gotten many recently so please give me some! Thanks I really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

**A special thank you to Keith who gave me the only review. Thank you!**

Chapter 7

"What's happening?" I asked Aragorn the instant he came out of the hall.

He quickly replied, "Ten thousand Uraki have left Isengard and are planning to march on Helms Deep. They will be here before the night is out."

I let out a loud gasp but quickly continued, "What will we do?"

"All the women and children will go into the caves and the men will stand and fight." Aragorn said this and I could tell he was trying to get me to stay in the caves with the women and children. I knew the instant he said that that no matter what he said I would stand and fight. I would not behave like a coward and stay in the caves to wait out the fight.

I quickly told him, "I will not be left here while all the people I know and love go into battle. I will not sit here worrying that one of you might not return."

"Éowyn will be with you in the caves, and I know you have grown very close so you will not feel alone." He replied easily and I could tell from his voice that he thought he would be able to persuade me to stay in the caves.

"I can tell you haven't spoken to Éowyn because there is no way she will sit down there while all of you fight." I replied with a hint of venom in my voice.

"She will if I tell her to." I was immediately outraged that he thought he had that much power over Éowyn and her decisions.

"What power do you have that she will do as you request?"

"She will not want to argue with me, that is all." He replied effortlessly.

"I shall go speak to her and don't be surprised if you see us out there!" and with that I stormed off to find Éowyn.

I searched everywhere for her and when at last I saw her sitting on a stool in the room we were to share. She was crying and I knew at once she had spoken to Aragorn.

"Éowyn we must be strong and prove to them that we can do it. Prove that we could fight and win."

"Both my uncle and Aragorn told me I was to go to the caves with the women and children. But that is not why I am crying I have just made a fool of myself in front of Aragorn and I do not know what I will do." She whispered to me.

"I know I was told the same but we will fight! Do not worry about Aragorn he will forgive you of what ever you have done but now we need to hurry and prepare for war. Do you have your sword?" I quickly asked. She immediately looked up at me and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she looked at me with determination in her eyes.

"Yes, do you have your bow and dagger?" she questioned.

"Yes, let's go we will fight tonight."

With that we left to prepare for our first battle. Of which I did not know the results. For memories of the books were starting to leave me and I knew I could no longer trust in what I believed.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: This is the chapter where all of the fighting actually happens so I hope you are all really excited. It's going to be big. Thank you to who ever is telling me what's wrong I really appreciate it. Please Read and Review!! If you do I will really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

**A special thanks to Keith who was the only one who reviewed!**

Chapter 8

A horn could be heard in the distance and a shiver ran down my spine. Then I remembered the elves. _It's the elves coming not the orcs. The elves have come to help. _I ran out to see them and saw Legolas and Aragorn speaking to them. There was a crowd of elves that all looked identical compared to our very mismatched group. They all wore long blue cloaks and carried elfish bows.

The leader then began to speak, "We are proud to fight alongside men once more." I could see Legolas standing behind him agreeing with his every word.

Not long after that the all of the men and elves were lined up on the walls of the keep to wait for the orcs. Éowyn and I were among the men but we had been disguised as men for we knew they would force us to go to the caves if they knew we were women. The fear could be seen in everyone's eyes but there was also hope. Hope that we would win and that not everyone would die. Hope that your loved ones would see you later. This hope was only a slight wisp but some people were hanging onto that wisp with all their might.

It was a dark foggy night and it was hard to see the figures coming towards us. All I could see was a red haze on the horizon. This light I assumed was coming from their torches. But then I caught a glance of them and my blood froze in my veins. The orcs in the movies were nothing to seeing the real thing. The real thing was about a thousand times worse. They were hideous beasts that could in no way be compared to men. They were hunched over and had a slimy grey skin pulled tight over their backs. There faces were horrible to look at because they didn't have noses or eyes. There eyes were simply sunken holes in their heads and their mouths looked like some one had gotten a knife to cut it and it had healed in raged edges. The flashes of lightning only seemed to make it worse by emphasizing their sunken eyes. There eyes looked like they were missing and simply bloody holes that leaked grey goop.

Aragorn and the elf leader yelled out along the line and people prepared their bows. I was one of these people. We saw the orcs stop fifty feet before the wall and begin to yell and stomp their feet. Many of the men were there with their bows strung and their hands were shaking when all of a sudden one man let out his arrow before it was time and brought down a single orc. Yells of outrage could be heard coming from the orcs. I was sure that the people in the caves below would have to have heard them. The orcs were chanting while they began to come at us. I tried to stay calm but it is one thing to watch this in a movie but to actually be fighting in a battle is by far the most terrifying thing you have ever had to do. Aragorn yelled and everyone including me released their arrows upon the orcs. We stopped some but they were coming too quickly. They were nearly at the base of the wall. Then we shot again…and again. I soon lost count but before I knew it I was down to a few arrows that I decided to save and the orcs were climbing ladders that they had leaned against the side of the wall. I knew that we were about to be attacked head on. I then saw one face beginning to rise over the edge of the wall and I prepared to fight.

They came over the wall in a wave and instantly there was metal ringing as men elves and orcs fought for their lives. I saw all of the death and destruction around me and for a moment I was swept up in it all and forgot to think. When I came to I saw that Éowyn had been fighting the orcs around us while I stood there doing nothing. I knew I couldn't let that happen again because it could cause me to lose my life. That was when I saw him a single orc was coming at Éowyn's back and was about to strike. He never succeeded to attack her because I was able to stab him with my sword before he got too close to Éowyn. Then I realized I had killed a man. Well he may not have been a real man but I was still horrified. I never thought I would have the ability to actually kill something. But I was not able to ponder this long because there were orcs every where. I then rushed back into the fighting and stopped thinking and just fought. I cannot remember now how many I killed and I am glad for that was something I would like to forget forever. I turned savage for a while and killed mercilessly. I saw so many die both friend and foe. Their bodies lying along the wall like discarded pebbles. I never like stepping on dead people not tombs on the floors of churches or of body littered paths but here I had no choice. I fought to find Éowyn be cause we had agreed at the beginning to stay together to protect each other's backs but during the second rush of orcs I had lost her. I began to look everywhere for her from the lowest staircase to the highest tower. But my attention was quickly caught as I saw several orcs hauling a large spiky ball. At first I could not tell what it was and I couldn't remember anything of this sort from the book or movie. Then I remembered what it was and I glanced back towards the bottom of the wall.

I saw it, the bomb. Then it hit me what I had forgotten. I had known earlier that I was forgetting something but now it all came back to me. They had blown up a bit of the wall. That was how they got into the keep. They blew up the part of the wall by the drain. That was when I saw Éowyn fighting just feet above the drain. I was fighting my way over to her when I heard Aragorn shouting to Legolas, "Bring him down." I looked down to see a tall orc running towards the drain carrying a flaming torch.

I warned Éowyn to get off of the part of the wall I knew would be gone soon and began shooting my last arrows at the orc that was running towards the drain carrying a torch. That was when it hit me he knew he would die anyway so our arrows would not change anything. But that was when I realized that I would be too late any way. I caught a glance of him as he threw himself into the drain along with the torch. I then heard a loud boom and I saw rocks of various sizes flying through the sky. Then I felt a sudden burst of pain upon my head and the last thing I saw was a glimpse of Éowyn running towards me and I lost consciousness and fell into the darkness…


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Okay so I know the last chapter was kind of a cliff hanger and I know from my own experience that cliff hangers are horrible so I hope this chapter will make up for it. You rock and I don't know what I would do with out you! You guys should all know the drill by now but I'll tell you anyways. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! Thanks I really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

**I have started a new story but I promised I would only do one at a time so you will be getting at least two chapters a day for a while!**

Chapter 9

When I woke up I was lying on a small cot next to a fire. The room I was in seemed very unfamiliar. But the face staring down at me was one I would recognize anywhere. It was Éowyn.

"What happened?" I asked eagerly.

"Well, when the wall exploded a flying rock knocked you unconscious but I was able to get to you in time. Then I hurried up to the hall where I brought you in. They assumed we were both men so they asked your name and I told them you were Essen. It was the closest thing to your name I could think of on the spot. So I brought you in and layed you down and they put some ointment on your head and told me it could be a few hours before you would wake up. That was about the time that the orcs broke into the hold and we all retreated back to the hall. We defended it for a while but then when it looked like all hope was lost Aragorn and the king decided to ride out. When they had just reached the bottom Gandalf came. My brother Eomer was with him and all of his men. They rode down and met the orcs and then when most of them were dead they began to flee but where they had come from before was a wall of trees. They ran into the trees and then a loud moaning and lots of yelling could be heard. Within an hour the forest was gone leaving no sign that they had ever been there. It was one of the strangest things I have ever seen."

"What about all of our friends? Are they all okay?" I quickly questioned.

"Everyone is a little worse for the wear but no one died or was seriously injured." She replied calmly.

I knew as soon as I saw our friends that they didn't know we had fought because when we went into the room Gimli asked, "So how was it in the caves were you very scared?"

I decided the best thing to do was be honest so I said, "I wasn't in the caves I was fighting not thirty feet from you at the beginning of the battle."

I could see the astonishment in everyone's eyes except Aragorn's and instantly regretted my decision for honesty when Legolas looked at me and said, "What!"

"I wasn't just going to let you all fight while I sat in a cave wondering who was going to die." I said feeling my anger starting to rise.

Legolas then spoke again but he was speaking to Aragorn now, "Did you know of this?"

"Yes, I tried to persuade her to stay in the caves with Éowyn but I knew deep inside of me that she wouldn't listen to me."

After his statement Éowyn stood up and said, "I too fought in the battle!"

Right as she said this Théoden walked in and looked at her with a spark of anger in his eyes and said, "WHAT?"

I thought that Éowyn was going to lose her courage but I should have known she would surprise me when she said, "Yes, I fought in the battle and I am not ashamed of it and neither should Essa be. What we did was courageous and I'm proud of Essa and myself. "Do not think so little of me I am very proud of what I did and I would do it again in an instant but the next time I might watch out for flying bits of rock more." The minute the words left my mouth I regretted it. I should have left the fact that I was knocked unconscious out.

I was instantly met with four very confused faces and Éowyn's face that looked at me and I could tell she was very surprised. She probably thought that we would leave that part of the story out.

Legolas was once again the first to speak and his voice was less kind this time, "WHAT?"

"Well I was kind of hit over the head with a bit of flying debris when the wall exploded." I said leaving out the fact that I had been knocked unconscious.

Aragorn's next words left me speechless, "Next time you will have to be more careful."

"I don't think there will be a next time." Gimli said quickly.

"There will be many more battles before we can expect the war to end." Théoden replied to Gimli's comment.

"I have no doubt that there will be more battles but you will be in no more." He said looking directly at me.

"I think that no matter what you say you will not be able to keep her from fighting." Aragorn said promptly.

"Could you please stop talking as if I was not here!" I demanded and drew their attention back to me.

"I know this is one argument you will all lose for I can see a spark of determination in Essa's eyes and she will not change her mind easily." Gandalf said calmly and I realized for the first time that he had been sitting in the corner of the room the entire time we had been talking. I quickly ran over to him and hugged him. "I have missed you so much, Gandalf!" I whispered into his beard while still embracing him.

"I know, child. I have missed you too." And I could hear the sincerity in his voice as he whispered this so that only I could hear him.


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: A special thanks to anyone who reads my story. I would also like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm starting to run out of ideas so please give advice on what I should write!**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 10

I had decided that I would accompany everyone to Isengaurd. It was actually quite far which I hadn't been expecting. We traveled across the worn grassy plains of Rohan and followed the long flowing river through the hills and then we hit Fangorn it seemed more depressing that the last time I had been there.

"It seems different doesn't it?" Gandalf said when he saw me looking over the dark trees.

"How can it seem so different it hasn't even been a month since I was last here?" I asked confused.

"The forest changes from day to day but this part has seen much sorrow. It has seen trees torn from the ground and burned." He told me in a slightly ominous voice.

"The forest looks evil in a way!"

"The trees are filled with much anger." Legolas whispered.

"But we are friends!" Said Gimli as if he was speaking to the trees.

It was Théoden who spoke next, "We must be going we need to reach Isengaurd by mid day."

"Yes we have tarried here too long." Gandalf said.

The sun was just reaching it's full height in the sky when we arrived at Isengaurd. When we came upon a broken wall we saw that two familiar figures were sitting on top of it. It was Merry and Pippin.

"Welcome, my lords, to Isengaurd!" Merry exclaimed and when he saw me his smile grew more timid. Everyone but Gandalf laughed at their antics and Gimli grumbled.

"You young rascals!" Gimli exclaimed. "A merry hunt you lead us on, and here we find you feasting and smoking!" We all smiled at that. Pippin took a bite of meat and smiled.

"We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying some well earned comforts," Pippin said. He paused and smiled. "The salted pork is particularly good." Gimli smiled.

"Salted pork?" Gimli asked and I couldn't help but laugh so I did it quietly. Then I heard Gandalf sigh.

"Hobbits," Gandalf muttered under his breath.

"Essa," Gandalf said in a stern tone as if he already knew that I would object to his next words, "You must stay here with Merry and Pippin while I go deal with the filth that is Sauraman."

Before I could even open my mouth Pippin began speaking rapidly in an outraged tone, "What?! You can not leave us here with some _girl_ while you go and do all of the exciting stuff!"

"This matter is not up for discussion Peregrine Took! You will do as you are told!" said Gandalf in such a tone that no one wanted to say anything after that.

Pippin then proceeded to mumble something under his breath and then sit back down on the wall. Gandalf then left with Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas, and Théoden close at his tail.

As soon as they were gone I turned towards Pippin with a fierce scowl on my face and began, "I may be a girl but that gives you no right to be rude or insinuate that I am any different from you!"

I could see out of the corner of my eye that Merry was on the verge of laughing at the face Pippin pulled after my little outburst. After that the mood on the wall was quite different but I could still tell that Merry and Pippin were still unsure of how they should act around me. I decided to let them take their time and began to walk towards the waterfall. In both the books and the movies they never really had talked about the landscape around Isengaurd. They mainly focused on the fact that Pippin picked up the orb that had belonged to Sauraman.

That was when I realized that if Pippin never looked at it the first time he wouldn't have felt the need to look at it again and then they would never have figured out that Sauron was planning on attacking Gondor. If they didn't know about that then Gandalf never would have gone to Gondor and a lot more people would have died because the riders of Rohan would not have come. This all went through my head in a matter of seconds and I realized what I must do as soon as it had. I had to get Pippin to see the orb! All of a sudden I heard Merry and Pippin behind me and I realized that this was probably going to be my only chance and I turned to face them.

"Pippin, I know that you don't really know me but I really need you to do me a favor. Could you do that for me?" I asked as soon as I was close enough to them.

"What is it you want me to do?" he asked hesitantly.

"All I need you to do is go to Gandalf and tell him there is something important I have to tell him! Be careful as you walk through the water and watch were you are stepping so you don't trip!" as I told him this I realized that if he knew what I was really trying to make him do he would probably never forgive me.

"If it means I can be part of what's happening of course I'll go!" He said quickly before running off.

Merry then turned to me and gave me a strange look before saying, "I'm not sure what you are trying to do but I think that it is probably for a good reason."

I smiled thinking that there was perhaps a chance that I would be able to earn both of their trusts in time.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Thanks anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story!**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 11

It wasn't long before we left Isenguard and we were ridding swiftly back towards Edoras. When we arrived I was soon whisked away by Éowyn.

"We must prepare for the celebration of victory."

"Do I have to change I can just wear this?" I said gesturing at the travel clothes I was still wearing.

"Of course not! This is a party of sorts and you must impress all of the handsome young soldiers!" She said with a smile and I could tell she was trying to repress laughter.

"What? I don't really want to meet any guys!"

"I know but I promised myself that I wouldn't let you go out there in just your travel clothes." And with that she was not excepting any argument and quickly brought out a pale green dress with some simple silver beading on the bodice that looked like vines and leaves. I put it on and was surprised to find that it actually fit me fairly well.

"Where did you get this?" I asked Éowyn cautiously.

"It was mine when I was your age."

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!" Théoden said as he stood before the assembled people of Edoras.

"Hail" yelled everyone in attendance of the hall before drinking from their Tankards of ale. Soon everyone dispersed through out the room taking part in everything from drinking to dancing to singing drinking songs like Merry and Pippin. I looked across the room to see Éowyn hand Aragorn a cup filled with wine. She was wearing a simple light blue gown that was very similar to the green one I was wearing but was her size and had more beading that was along the hem of her dress and the sleeves. It was kind of sad in a way to see how she looked at him and knowing that she could never be with him because of Arwen. I then saw Théoden approach her and I knew from the sad look in both of their eyes that they were discussing Aragorn and the battle at Helms Deep.

I would not let my spirits get down thinking of things that had not yet happened so I headed towards Merry and Pippin knowing that they would help me get into the party.

Gimli caught me before I had made it over to them and said, "Lassie, your looking a little down I know just what will cheer you up!"

Before I knew it I was sitting at a rough wooden bench and Gimli was setting down a worn earthen mug in front of me. I could tell from the color of the contents that it was the ale most everyone else was drinking. I had never had alcohol before and I wasn't really sure I wanted to try it.

"I've never had alcohol before, Gimli!"

"That means that you have to try it!" he said and I couldn't tell if he believed me in the first place. I took a tentative sip and started coughing when it entered my mouth. I had always thought that it was only hard alcohol like scotch and whiskey that burned your throat but when I had swallowed that first sip it had hurt a lot. That was when I realized that it wasn't just ale like I had originally thought it was actually something much stronger. This all went through my head and in a matter of seconds and before I knew it I was no longer sure if I should trust Gimli. My doubt increased even more when Merry and Pippin made their way over with mischievous grins on their faces and I realized that they were trying to get me drunk. _Why not mess with their minds a little and pretend I am drunk._ They turned when Aragorn called out and I took that moment to pour the liquid into the man next to me's mug. He would have a nasty little surprise but I don't think he would mind that much.

"I shhhood gooo sssside." I said purposely slurring my words together and then stumbling and almost falling over as I stood up. As I pretended to wobble some more I saw Gimli look in the cup he had given me and gasp before showing Merry and Pippin that it was empty. While they were looking into it I ducked behind a group of men standing around a wooden column. I heard Gimli gasp as he realized that I was gone and he said "Oh Great! I got her drunk and now she's wandering around on her own! Gandalf is going to kill us if we don't find her fast!"

They split up in search of me and I quickly looked around to see if I could find Éowyn and found her speaking with Gimli so I waited till he left before going up to her.

"Essa, Gimli just told me he got you drunk and he couldn't find you."

"He thinks he got me drunk because he tried but I poured the alcohol out and pretended to be drunk and then left while they weren't looking.."

Éowyn took one look at me and before I knew it she was laughing uncontrollably. I couldn't help but laugh with her and soon we were both attracting unwanted attention and she grabbed my hand and started to lead me into an area of the hall I had never been before. We went through silent rooms with dust on the furniture and floors. We went through a plain wooden door and all of a sudden we were in a small enclosed garden. There were walls on all sides but there was no roof and you could see billions of stars and the moon light up the garden. There was a small round pool in the middle of the garden and I could see small red and orange fish swimming through the water. Éowyn sat down on the thick green grass and I sat down next to her just soaking up the silence of the calm night.

"This was my mother's garden before she died." Éowyn said in a hushed voice. "She use to bring me out here and we would just lay on the grass and stare at the stars. She use to tell me stories of the people in the stars."

Her talking about her mother and the stars reminded me of when I use to watch the moon with my dad when ever we went on long road trips.

"I use to watch the moon with my father when I was little and he would hold me. Even when I got to big to hold he would hug me and we would watch the moon. I miss him so much." I said and my voice was so low I wasn't even sure if she could hear me until she started to cry and whispered, "Me too."

We both sat there for a while just holding each other and crying. Before long we headed in to go to sleep but before I went with her I headed into the hall and told Gimli where I was going and that I wasn't mad at him for trying to get me drunk.


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

**Special Thank you to dinopoodle who reviews every chapter! Thank You!**

Chapter 12

I woke with a start and realized at once that something was wrong. That was when I saw Pippin slowly ambling towards Gandalf and then I realized what he was doing. He was going to look in the orb again. He slowly made his way over to Gandalf and was nearly there when Merry asked, "What are you doing, Pip?" with no response from Pippin. I saw him suddenly stop before Gandalf with an expression of surprise. It took only a minute of remembrance before I realized that he saw that Gandalf slept with his eyes open. He grabbed a rounded pitcher from the table next to Gandalf's cot and in a quick movement he had replaced the orb that was wrapped in a simple burlap bag with the earthen jug he had grabbed off of the table. He went over to his bed and gently set the wrapped prize down and began to pull back the worn cloth. Underneath the cloth I could see a perfectly round black ball that had streaks of red and gold through it. Pippin carefully lowered both hands down onto the orb and I could see a faint gold light coming from the orb that was steadily getting brighter and brighter until it was beginning to look like it was on fire. I gasped when I realized that Pippin was rolling on the floor in agony.

Merry said his name several times before looking at me with an unspoken question in his eyes. I looked at Merry with wide eyes and replied to the silent question, "I don't know. I just don't know."

But before he had a chance to say anything in response Legolas and Aragorn burst through the door. Aragorn quickly grabbed the flaming ball from Pippin's hands but he held it for only a few seconds before he fell over in pain and it dropped from his hands and began to roll across the room towards me. I didn't even think before I grabbed a blanket off of the bed I was lying on and quickly covered the flaming ball with it causing it to no longer appear to be in flame. Gandalf seemed quite mad before he saw Merry kneeling next to a deathly still Pippin and his anger quickly fled.

Gandalf put his hand on Pippin's forehead and muttered something in a foreign language before Pippin gasped and lay there shaking and panting for breath.

"What did you see?" Gandalf said in a calm voice.

"A tree, there was a white tree in a courtyard of stone. It was dead. It was burning." said Pippin in a frightened and slightly stuttering voice.

"Minas Tirtih." Gandalf said in an knowing tone.

"I saw… I saw him. I could hear his voice in my head."

"Speak!" Gandalf said once more curious.

"He asked me my name. I didn't answer. He hurt me." Pippin's voice had taken on a slightly ominous tone.

"What did you tell of Frodo and the ring?!" Gandalf demanded.

Pippin began to speak in a shaky voice again, "Nothing."

Gandalf seemed to be relieved and I was amazed by the fact that everyone seemed to just have forgotten everything, it seemed as if they were all just suddenly asleep.

I had a hard time falling asleep that night with everything going through my head thoughts of the future and of my past and I was forced to remember everything that had happened to me before coming to Middle Earth. These were things I kept forcing myself not to think about because I knew what would happen if I did. I already knew it was too late; I was too far withdrawn into my mind for anyone or anything to bring me back.

When I woke I knew something was different because I felt strangely stiff as if I had just run a marathon or worked out at a gym for hours. This was strange because all I had been doing was sleeping. Then I realized that I was surrounded by a crowd of people, well crowd is the wrong term for it; I was surrounded by Gandalf, Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin.

"Whoa, why is everyone crowded around me?" I said not sure what was happening.

"You're an Iriel!" Gandalf said and I could hear a mix of anger and disbelief.

"What?"

"I thought they were extinct!" Aragorn said in a clearly shocked voice.

"I have heard of a few elves who are also Iriels but I have never actually met one!"

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" I asked. They had been talking about me as if I wasn't even there.

Gandalf began, "You failed to tell us that you were an Iriel so we were awoken with a surprise this morning."

"What do you mean an Iriel?"

"Ohh, I am sorry my dear It hadn't occurred to me that you might have a different name for it where you came from."

"How many times do I have to say this? I. HAVE. NO. IDEA. WHAT. YOU. ARE. TALKING. ABOUT." I was really starting to get annoyed by the fact that they were just assuming I knew what they were talking about. I was getting very uncomfortable just laying there so I shifted to a sitting position and they all started to stare at me even more.

"WHAT IS GOING ON???" they were starting to really get on my nerves now.

Aragorn was the first to say anything, "Sorry we just aren't use to seeing you with wings." He said apologetically.

"WHAT?!" I said now REALLY confused.

Gandalf was the only one who didn't seem guilty now so he began, "Let's start from the beginning. Merry woke up and saw you laying there so"

Merry then cut him off and began, "I saw you and I was worried. I didn't know what had happened and I had never seen you with wings so I went and woke up Aragorn and he woke up Legolas. By this time Pip was up too and then we woke Gandalf and he came over and then you woke up." When Merry started I could see Gandalf frown but he didn't stop Merry from telling the story.

"Why do you keep talking about wings?" I asked unsure if I would get an answer.

Gimli was the next to speak, "Well lassie, it's not everyday you see a girl with wings coming out of her back!"

His words shocked me into silence and I turned my head to the left to look over my shoulder and I saw to my surprise a set of wings. They were covered in a layer of chocolate brown colored feathers, the same color as my hair. They were nearly three feet in length and one and a half in width. I realized that I could move them just as I could with all of my other limbs, there was no thought required. _This is probably why I feel so sore._ The others seemed to have finally realized that this was all new to me as well.

Gandalf was the first to speak, "I am truly sorry, Essa, I assumed that you knew about being an Iriel." I could tell from his voice that he was being sincere.

"What exactly is an Iriel?" I asked.

I was surprised when Legolas was the one to answer so I shifted my gaze to him. "Iriels are mythical creatures who are supposed to be a cross between humans and eagles. The only known Iriels have been elves and they say that once all elves had the power to grow wings but it was long forgotten so now only very few are born with them."

"Our mistake was caused by the fact that Iriels are supposed to be born with their wings." Aragorn stated in an apologetic tone.

Merry put a comforting hand on my arm and squeezed saying, "Don't worry we had never heard of them before today either."

I had never really liked being the center of attention and I just wished the wings would go away. I looked around as I heard a collection of gasps come from all around me.

"Where did they go?" said Pippin and I could hear a little bit of awe in his voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked but when I turned my head I saw that they were no longer there. I could still feel them and I knew somewhere deep inside of me that if I wanted them to come back they would.

It was Legolas who interrupted my thoughts, "I wonder how many elves have them and we never knew."

"I wonder if your mother knows." Gandalf said and I could tell that he was lost in his own little world.

"Who is my mother?" I asked Gandalf curios to see if he would answer me without thinking.

"All in good time, my dear, all in good time." He said without looking at me.


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has read this and thanks to everyone for the reviews. I really appreciate it! **

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 13

By the time everyone had recovered from the shock of my wings it was nearly midday. I decided that later that day I would go outside and try to fly. Gandalf disapproved greatly but I knew he wouldn't stand in my way if he knew how much I really wanted to be able to use them. We had our midday meal in the hall with Théoden and Gandalf told him about everything that had happened the night before. He did however leave out this morning's event. I was grateful for that because I didn't really know how he would react and I didn't want everyone to know.

After lunch I headed out to find Éowyn because I knew I could trust her with my secret. I found her in the little garden we had been in last night. It didn't feel like it had only been a few hours it felt like it had been almost a week. It was probably a good thing she was out here because then there would be no one else to see my wings when I showed them to her.

"Éowyn, there's something I have to tell you." I said hesitantly.

"You know you can tell me anything." She said sincerely.

"I have only known about this since this morning so it's as new to you as it is to me."

"What is it?" she asked tentatively.

"I'm an Iriel!" I blurted out.

"What?!"

"I'm an Iriel." I said slower this time.

"Aren't they like made up creatures with wings?" she questioned.

"Yeah, well they aren't made up but they have wings."

"But you don't have wings!" she said slowly as if speaking to a small child instead of me.

"Yes I do!" She had been pacing back and forth and when she turned towards me again I had made my wings appear again. I could tell from the expression on her face that she was going to insist I was wrong but I could also see the shock of seeing my wings.

"Oh my gosh!" She let out in a single breath. Everyone who knew had reacted with the same kind of shocked look on their faces.

"Yeah, it was just a bit of a surprise when I woke up with these on my back this morning."

"Who else knows?"

"Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Merry, and Pippin all know."

"Can you actually fly with them?" she questioned carefully.

"Honestly I don't know. I haven't tried yet."

"You should try here!"

"Okay!" and with that I spread my wings that were a full ten feet wide when spread out. They nearly touched the sides of the walls. I began to flap them without even thinking about it and all of a sudden I was in the air above the hall. I looked down to see Éowyn in the garden and discovered to my pleasure that I was no longer afraid of heights. My whole life until that point I had been terrified of heights because I could always find someway without even trying that I could fall and die. _No wonder I am no longer afraid, if I started to fall I could just let my wings out and fly._ I quickly got the hang of flying and I could soon twist and flip in the air. I slowly began to rise higher and higher over the city and I was delighted to find that people weren't looking up at me. I had been quite afraid that everyone would be watching me and that I wouldn't have had the nerve to fly anymore.

Flying was by far the most fun thing I had ever done because I didn't really have to think about it I could just be up there and relaxing. What I saw next shocked me beyond compare. It was a person in the air. But what really shocked me was the fact that they also had wings, a large pair of almost black. They were quickly coming towards me and made no signs that they were going to slow. The closer they got the more I could see the person. I saw that it was a man and that he seemed to be carrying a large knife that in some ways resembled a sword. That was when I got truly cared and started to descend back towards the hall but then I realized that I couldn't actually see it I had flown over the hills that were on the borders of Rohan. I quickly turned back around and headed towards the flat plains. I realized that the man could fly much faster than me for he was quickly gaining on me. I realized there was no reason to try and outrun, or out fly him because he would be able to beat me no matter what. I decided that my best bet was probably to just stop and talk to him. I didn't have to wait long before he had reached me and I just gave him a timid smile not sure what I was supposed to say. Up close I could see that his wings matched his dark hair just like mine. I also saw that he was nearly six feet tall, he had the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen. His facial bones were fairly prominent and gave him a kind of rugged look. I could see he had very defined muscles because he wasn't wearing a shirt. I would have to say he was the most handsome man I had ever seen.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" He asked in stiff voice.

**AN: I'm sorry for the cliff hanger. It was either a cliffhanger or waiting a week to have a longer chapter. I hope I chose right. Did you enjoy this chapter? If you did enjoy it please review. :)**


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Okay so I know the last chapter was kind of a cliff hanger and I know from my own experience that cliff hangers are horrible so I hope this chapter will make up for it. You rock and I don't know what I would do with out you! You guys should all know the drill by now but I'll tell you anyways. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! Thanks I really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing.**

**Review and I will give you a preview!**

**End of last chapter: **"Do you have any idea who I am?" He asked in stiff voice.

Chapter 14

I just hovered there looking at him as if he was a moron, "Why on Earth would I know who you are?" I asked in an indignant voice.

"You will know when the time comes."

"What are you talking about?" I asked not sure if the man in front of me was even sane.

"Kin of kin and enemy alike shall heal the broken, bring back the lost, and renew the broken balance." He said in a slightly ominous voice.

"What?"

"All in good time, child, all in good time." He said and I finally realized how tired I was of everyone telling me that I wanted some of my questions answered. While I had been lost in thought the strange man had completely disappeared. I turned in every direction to look for him but I couldn't see him anywhere.

I quickly flew back to Edoras when I realized that I had been gone for at least an hour and I had a feeling it had been more. I didn't want anyone to worry. Flying back I wasn't thinking about flying as much so I took sometime to see what I was flying past. People say that Rohan was ugly because it was just plains with dead grass. I realized as I flew over that Rohan was very much like Colorado- where I use to live. It wasn't actually dead grass like people think it is actually just yellow like wheat and such that is supposed to be yellow. Unlike Colorado there weren't really any trees. But I realized that the endless expanse of clear space was in some ways the same as endless forests.

When I was just above the hall I saw a figure all dressed in white which I knew could only be Gandalf. He seemed to be hurrying quickly towards the barn. It took a moment before I saw the figure following quickly behind him. It was Pippin. I hurriedly flew down towards them to see what the rush was all about.

As I landed in the middle of the town I drew quite a few curios glances but as soon as they recognized me they went back to their own business. I withdrew my wings and rushed across the way towards Gandalf. As soon as I was close enough for him to hear I asked, "Gandalf, where are you going?"

"Someone must go to Gondor to warn them of the attack that will undoubtedly occur soon." He said surprisingly calm.

"I could go it would only take me a few hours to get there and back." I suggested.

"No, they will need me for the events that will occur."

"Will you be okay on your own?" I asked truly caring about Gandalf. He had become like a grandfather to me.

"I won't be going alone. Pippin will be joining me." As he said this surprise lit up Pippin's face and I realized that this was the first he had heard of it.

"Are you sure? I could go if you would like." I asked not really wanting to be left behind.

"There is a more dangerous path that you must take. Travel with Aragorn no matter what! Do not let him leave without you even if you have to follow him without his knowledge." The tone in Gandalf's voice ensured that I would not leave Aragorn for anything.

"If you insist. Good bye, Gandalf. Good bye, Pippin." As I said my good byes I realized that I didn't know when I would next meet them. This made me kind of sad because they were both my friends and I would do most anything for them.

The next few days went slowly because as well as having Gandalf and Pippin leave but Éowyn also had to leave to visit villages through out Rohan. By the end of the third day both Merry and me were severely missing our friends and found that we had nothing to do. That was until I realized that they had never even heard of playing cards here. It didn't take long to make a simple set of playing cards from a cut up piece of parchment. They were no where near as nice as real ones but they were the best we had. I decided to start teaching Merry how to play them. We started out with a simple game of Go Fish. I couldn't think of any easier ones and I figured that if my four year old cousins could play it then Merry could too.

"Okay, we each have seven cards. Go through your cards and if you have doubles of any number put them down over here." I said pointing to a spot next to him.

"What do the shapes mean?" Merry asked intently.

"I'll explain them later, we don't need them for this game."

"Okay, what do I do after finding the pairs?"

"After finding the pairs we start the actual game. This is the draw pile." I said pointing to the pile in between us. "I will ask you for a card, for instance. Do you have any threes? If you have one you give it to me if not you say go fish. If you say go fish I take a card from the draw pile if you do have the card I take it and put the pair in my pile."

"I think I have it can I go first?" Merry asked eagerly.

"Go ahead!"

"Do you have any sixes?"

"Go Fish."

"I take one from here, right?" He asked not wanting to make a mistake his first time.

"Yes," He took a card, "My turn, do you have a nine?"

"Yes!" he said with a big smile on his face as he handed me the card.

"Thank you. Your turn now."

"What's this?" Aragorn asked as he walked up from behind me.

Merry answered before I had a chance, "Essa's teaching me a game from where she use to live."

I smiled up at Aragorn and said, "You're welcome to join us if you would like."

"It would be my pleasure." Aragorn stated as he sat down next to me. I zoned out a little and let Merry describe the rules. Every once in a while he would look at me to make sure he was saying the right thing and I would nod at him and smile. The smile on his face was giant because I could tell how proud he was that I didn't have to correct him. Before long we were just sitting around playing cards. I use to think that playing Go Fish with little kids was kind of boring but I realized now that as long as you really got into it, it could be really fun. We had been sitting there playing for a while when I saw a fire on the horizon and said, "That can't be good! It looks like something over there is on fire!" Aragorn took one look at where I was pointing and jumped up without a word and ran towards the hall. He burst into the hall and yelled, "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!" Merry and I were not far behind him and saw as both him and the king just stood there for a second before the kings said, "And Rohan will answer!"


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Okay so I know the last chapter was kind of a cliff hanger and I know from my own experience that cliff hangers are horrible so I hope this chapter will make up for it. You rock and I don't know what I would do with out you! You guys should all know the drill by now but I'll tell you anyways. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! Thanks I really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 15

The next two days were spent gathering forces and heading for Dun harrow.

"Essa, they cannot find a horse small enough for me!" Merry exclaimed as he ran towards me.

"Don't worry you can ride Honeydew. I'm sure she will not mind."

"Oh really!?" Merry asked and I could see the joy on his face. "I was afraid that I would be left behind!"

"I would never leave without you!" I cried out at the preposterous remark.

Merry looked so happy but then I saw a storm cloud pass over his face, "But what about you? They say that there are no more horses left!"

After he finished I took a step back and let my wings out while saying, "What do you think these are for?"

Merry ran off not long after that to get Honeydew ready. I was helping Éowyn to saddle her horse and pack her bags when Aragorn came over. He saw Éowyn and asked, "Will you ride with us?"

"Just to the encampment. It's tradition for the women of the court to farewell the men." Éowyn replied. Aragorn looked at her saddle bags once before lifting a blanket to reveal her sword hidden underneath. Aragorn started to say something but before he could I started, "Women have as much right as any man to fight."

"They will not allow either of you to fight."

"What right, have they to stop us? What right, have they to say what we can and can't do?" I demanded.

"They have no right but that does not mean that they won't stop you." Aragorn said in a very calm voice.

"They will not stop me!" I said before storming away with Éowyn close at my heels.

When we arrived at the camp later that day I was surprised to see just how many people were there. Everyone kept saying that there weren't nearly enough people but I was amazed by how many actually came. The camp was full of the bustle and hustle of people getting their weapons sharpened, caring for their horses, and all sorts of other things. Aragorn and the king left for a little while to find out how many people came from each place. They estimated that there was somewhere near six thousand men. The men were camping all along the bottom of the cliff. The riders from Edoras were all camped along the top of the cliff that was only accessible by a long zigzagging path that was carved into the cliff wall.

By nightfall I was all settled into a tent next to Aragorn. I was simply wandering the camp when Merry found me. He rushed over with a look on his face that said he had something that he wanted to ask me. He tended to ask a lot of questions but I was getting use to his inquisitive nature. I truly enjoyed answering his questions because I knew that he really did valued my answers no matter what they were.

"Essa, do you want to come see Éowyn with me? She is going to get me armor!" He said with a huge smile on his face. It seemed like Merry was always smiling. People enjoyed being around him because he made people feel happier just being around him. I was not left out from this.

"No thank you. I think I'll go flying, but don't let me ruin your fun." I said before Merry ran off. It took less than a second for me to call my wings out and I took off into the sky. I flew in the cool moonlight for a while just reveling in the cool breeze and the beautiful night. I found that I could lay on my back in the air and I would not fall. I just laid there for a long time staring at the stars. The moon was just a tiny crescent but it still shone with a remarkable intensity. It was hard to think that something so small could create so much light. I started to fly in small circles. The circles slowly got bigger and bigger until I was circling the mountain. I didn't see what was so scary about the mountain but everyone in the camp was claiming that it was evil. No one who followed the path through the mountain ever returned.

I was simply reveling in the cool night when I saw a familiar figure flying towards me. It was the same man that I saw on my very first flight. He flew quickly towards me and stopped just a little ways away and said one thing. One of the few things I had ever heard him say, "Do you have any idea who I am?" He asked in stiff voice.


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Okay so I know the last chapter was kind of a cliff hanger and I know from my own experience that cliff hangers are horrible so I hope this chapter will make up for it. You rock and I don't know what I would do with out you! You guys should all know the drill by now but I'll tell you anyways. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! Thanks I really appreciate it. Even if you are reading this when the whole thing is complete I still want reviews. I don't care if they are anonymous they are still amazing. Does this seem familiar? As if there has been another chapter that started just like this. I'm so sorry it took so long to get this out but the website wouldn't except the documents yesterday.  
**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

**End of last chapter: **"Do you have any idea who I am?" He asked in stiff voice.

Chapter 16

I just hovered there looking at him as if he was a moron, "Why on Earth would I know who you are?" I asked in an indignant voice.

He fixed me in place with a cold stare, "Who are you?" he said blatantly disregarding my own question.

"My name is Essandora."

"What is your family name?" he questioned.

I do not know." I said and for the first time I realized I didn't really know who my family was. _No, I do know who my birth parents are._

The man who had not yet told me his name interrupted my thoughts again, "I am Isildur Númenor."

"That is not possible you were killed by orcs long ago!" I said quickly unable to believe that before me stood the men that gave up the opportunity to destroy the ring simply so that he could keep it for himself.

"I knew that I must fake my own death so I could live to teach my kin."

"I know your kin and everyone including him thinks you are dead!" I hollered no believing that this man claimed to be related to Aragorn.

"Long ago there was a prophecy that spoke of my family, Kin of kin and enemy alike will be the one who heals the broken and brings back the lost and renews the broken balance."

"That still doesn't explain why you haven't taught Aragorn anything, he is your only kin left!"

"He is not the last!" he roared at me.

"Then who is?" I asked curios to know if Aragorn had some family he was not aware of.

"You!"

"What?"

"You are the last of our family line you are the kin of kin and enemy alike, you are my great, great, great granddaughter." He said and I could see a smile slowly appearing on his face.

"But that would mean that… NO! I couldn't have been traveling with my father all this time and never known!" I said finally realizing that he was trying to imply that my father was none other than…Aragorn.

"I am afraid it is all true, child."

After my conversation with Isildur I headed back towards the camp. On the way there I saw a single figure on horseback. I followed the figure as it rode up the zigzagging path towards the camp. I figured it was not an enemy because it mad no attempt to hide it's self from the sentries. They were quickly led towards the kings tent after speaking with one of the guards.

I hovered above the king's tent as the figure that I had discovered was a man went into the tent. It wasn't long before a soldier left the tent and came back a few minutes later with Aragorn not far behind. As Aragorn approached the tent the man I had watched earlier came out to greet him. I immediately knew when he saw me. The man whispered something to the king. Théoden then gestured towards me implying that I should come. I landed and withdrew my wings so I could enter the tent. I saw that it was just me, Aragorn, the man, and the king in the tent. Théoden quickly left.

The man slowly approached us and withdrew him hood. Aragorn immediately recognized the man and bowed his head, "My lord Elrond."

"I come on behalf of one whom I love." A strange look passed over Aragorn's face, "Arwen is dying. She will not long survive the evil that spreads from Mordor. The light of the Evenstar is failing. As Sauron's power grows, her strength wanes. Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the ring. The Shadow is upon us, Aragorn. The end has come." As Elrond said this all a shadow passed over Aragorn's face as if the sun was suddenly gone but Aragorn quickly recovered from it and said, "It will not be our end but his."

"You ride to war, but not to victory. Sauron's armies march upon Minas Tirith, this you know. But in secret he sends another force which will attack from the river. A fleet of Corsair's ships sail from the south. They'll be in the city in two days. Your outnumbered, Aragorn. You need more men." This was when I realized that they had forgotten about me. They no longer knew that I was there.

"There are none."

"There are those who dwell in the mountain."

"Murderers…Traitors! You would call upon them to fight? They believe in nothing. They answer to no one."

"They will answer to the king of Gondor." And with that he withdrew from inside of his cloak a sword longer than any I had ever seen. It was covered by a basic leather sheath but I could tell that it would be beautiful. Anduril, the flame of the west, forged from the shards of Narsil." Aragorn slowly approached Elrond and took the sword from his hands. Then in one swift yet graceful movement he drew the sword from the sheath and revealed the sword of his ancestors and mine.

"Sauron will not have forgot the sword of Elendil. The blade that was broken shall return to Minas Tirith."

"The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the road through the mountains."

"I will."

"Where is the Iriel I saw before?"

"I am here." I said finally stepping out of the shadows towards them.

"No young one I speak of the winged one I saw earlier."

"That was me. Why do you doubt it?" I replied earnestly curios of why he didn't believe me.

"I see no wings upon you, young one."

With his words I withdrew my wings. I could not spread them wide because there wasn't room in the tent but I knew he saw them because the expression on his face was not easily mistakable.

"How do you do that, young one?"

"What?" I asked confused.

"How do you hide your wings from me?"

"I did not hide them I simply retracted them." As soon as the words left my mouth I realized that it sounded like a cat retracting it's claws.

"Kin of kin and enemy alike." He muttered to himself.

"How do you know that?" I asked startled that I had heard that twice in one day.

"I was there with Isildur that day and you are my kin."

Aragorn was talking before I even had a chance to think, "You have but three children."

"But she is my grandchild."

"Who?" Aragorn asked. I was confused by this but Elrond seemed to know exactly what he was talking about.

"Arwen"

"What?!" I could tell that Aragorn was outraged to know that his one love had, had a child without his knowledge.

"She spent nearly a year in Lothlórien nearly nineteen years ago."

"Who is the father?" Aragorn asked and I realized he didn't know that he was the father.

"You." I said before Elrond had a chance.

"What?"

"You are my father." A new expression dawned upon Aragorn's face.

"Kin of kin and enemy alike."

"What does that mean?" Aragorn asked before I could.

"The day that Isildur cut the ring from Sauron's hand we went up to the top of Mount Doom."

"Yes, but then he failed to drop it and kept it for himself."

"No, that is what everyone was told but only me and Isildur know the real story. We stood atop the mountain and Isildur reached out his hand and dropped it."

"It could not have been! Frodo has it." Aragorn demanded.

"It was dropped but about three feet from the lava it stopped. A song played and then there were a few words, Kin of kin and enemy alike shall heal the broken, bring back the lost, and renew the broken balance, without the world will slowly break."

"Who is this?"

"Me" I said before thinking.

"How do you know?" Aragorn questioned.

"The first time I ever flew I saw a man. I saw him again this night and he told me the phrase that Lord Elrond told me both times. He told me his name was Isildur and that I was his kin."

"Isildur and I were enemies for a long time even if we did fight for the same side."

"How did you both know I was who the prophecy spoke of?"

"Iriels are not seen often and the only other female Iriel has come from my blood."

Aragorn spoke next, "Arwen isn't an Iriel!?"

"She was. Long ago. My sister hated her for it and when Arwen left my house she followed and in the dead of night she cut them off. Arwen was extremely depressed for a long time and she was not happy after that till she met you."

"That's horrible!" I said and I was amazed by the cruelty someone would do to their own family.

"She never told me." Aragorn murmured to himself.

"There are only two things she has never told you and now you know them both." Lord Elrond said before sweeping out of the tent and into the night.


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Okay this one won't be quite as good as the last one because there isn't as much drama but I hope you all like it. I don't really have a beta anymore so these are all unedited. Point out any mistakes you see. I really like it when I get reviews so even if your reading this in like 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous ones are fine too but you won't get a preview. Thanks for reading!**

**Review and you get a preview.**

Chapter 17

Aragorn and I were left standing speechless in the tent but it look less than a minute for Aragorn to think things through and he was off. He headed through the camp towards his tent. He got there and started to pack his things so I quickly copied him. He saw me moving around and looked up, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you."

"This is something I must do alone."

"I will not be left behind!"

"You will do as I say."

"You have known you are my father about ten minutes and now you have decided you can control my life!" I yelled furious that he thought I was just someone he could just tell what to do.

"You will stay here." He said in a slightly calmer voice.

"Gandalf said that my path was with you and that I would be needed."

"You cannot come."

"I can either travel with you or I can follow you. It's your choice."

"I was a ranger you could not follow me."

"You can be seen from the sky."

"Fine, you may come but tell no one else." And with that he headed off to find his horse. I found that since becoming an Iriel it took a lot to get tired and I could run as fast as I could fly. I knew that I would probably never need a horse again. I gathered together the last of my stuff and put it on my back before hurrying after Aragorn.

He had saddled Brego and was leading him through the camp towards the road through the mountain when I found him. We headed slowly along the path together when Gimli stepped out and said, "Just where do you think you're off to?"

"Not this time. This time you must stay Gimli."

"What of her?" he asked pointing at me.

"I had no choice in the matter." Gimli grumbled a bit but then Legolas came from the other side and said, "Have you learnt nothing of the stubbornness of dwarves?"

"You might as well accept it, were coming with you, laddie." Gimli said to Aragorn. I knew that Aragorn wasn't to apposed to it because he had a slight smile on his face.

We road through the rest of the camp towards the crack and everywhere I could hear talk and whisper of why we were leaving. Most of the soldiers had given up hope and now their fears were being confirmed. We headed into the crack of the mountain and I was instantly engulfed in darkness. I could see only a few feet in front of me but luckily that was enough to see Brego's tail swishing back and forth. We carried on through the night and into the day. We rode through the uneven land and stared at endless expanses of grey rock with only little scraggly trees to break the endless cycle. Before long the passages got too narrow so we were forced to walk. Aragorn and Legolas led the horses in front with Gimli and me in the rear.

"What kind of army would linger in such a place?" Gimli asked no one in particular.

"One that is cursed."

"Why are they cursed?" I asked eagerly because I couldn't remember.

"Long ago, the men of the mountain swore an oath to the last king of Gondor to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, when Gondor's need was dire, they fled, vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge." Legolas' words made me think back to my meeting with Isildur. I didn't think that he was that kind of person but then again he had had hundreds of years to change.

"If I was cursed I would pick somewhere nice to live." Gimli muttered under his breath.

"They like it here. This is their home and they would not leave it easily. They have memories here." I said to Gimli as I thought about the home in Colorado where I had come from. I would give anything to be there now but I knew that there was no way.

We soon reached a dead end that had only a small door carved into the mountain with some very strange carvings above it. Legolas slowly read them to us in a voice I could only describe as menacing. "The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it. The way is shut." As soon as he stopped talking a strong gust of wind blew out of the door way and surrounded us. The horses started to panick and were pulling at their leads. They ripped from Aragorn and Legolas and bolted in the other direction, "Brego!"

The wind kept blowing creating a kind of white mist around us. The wind was slowly forcing Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas back but it didn't stop me from moving or push me back at all. I figured that this was probably because of the fact that I was an Iriel. I was tempted to bring out my wings but I knew that if I did I would not be able to fit through the door.

"I do not fear death!" Aragorn said before charging through the wind and into the tunnel.

Legolas was not far behind him and it was just me and Gimli left. I quickly hurried after Legolas but stopped just inside the tunnel and waited for Gimli. I heard him out there, "Well this is a thing unheard-of. An elf will go underground while dwarf dare not. Oh, I'd never hear the end of it." It took just seconds for Gimli to reach where I was waiting in the tunnel. "Even and Iriel went in before you and they are creatures of the sky." I said hoping I wouldn't damage his pride too much but my worry was unfounded for as soon as he heard my words he let out a mighty rumble of a laugh.


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: Okay this one won't be quite as good as the last one because there isn't as much drama but I hope you all like it. I don't really have a beta anymore so these are all unedited. Point out any mistakes you see. I really like it when I get reviews so even if your reading this in like 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous ones are fine too but you won't get a preview. Thanks for reading!**

**Review and you get a preview.**

Chapter 18

We went through the dark tunnel quickly, nearly at a run. It seemed to go on for a really long ways almost like we were going under the entire mountain. Would we soon let out on a field next to the mountain? We burst out into a large space. There were what looked to be houses and other rooms carved into the mountain wall. They were ever shape and size but there were no people. There was a thick layer of dust coating every surface in sight and as we stepped through it it burst into the air. Without being able to help it I let out a sneeze that echoed in the giant room. There was a large crack in the middle of the floor that ran almost the entire length of the cavernous room. I could not see the bottom and I had a very bad feeling that somewhere at the bottom were piles of dead bodies. Did the bodies belong to those who had come hear and been killed or perhaps even the people who were cursed. Where their bodies still here somewhere? Everyone looked around quickly with their weapons at the ready. Without even thinking about it I was tempted to let my wings out but I held them in and pulled my bow from its quiver instead. As we started to approach the door way in the middle of the room I realized that there must be a constant supply of fresh air or this would all be stale and we would probably pass out. It mad me wonder at first if maybe some of the houses had windows that let out into the side of the mountain. Then I noticed the skylights right above the door we stood before. The door reminded me slightly of the main door at the hall in Edoras so I figured it was probably the main hall here.

"Who enters my domain?" said an eerie voice somewhere in the darkness. A figure slowly started to form on the stairs of the building I thought was the hall. It was a gray shadow of a man almost. It looked nothing like the people from the movies. They were just colorless and slightly see through people.

"One who will have your allegiance!" Aragorn said.

"The dead do not suffer the living to pass."

"You will suffer me!"

"The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it." While he said all of this more and more of the ghost people started to appear all around us. They were all soldiers, all men. They slowly started to move closer and closer inclosing us in a small circle. We were completely surrounded by dead men whose only thoughts were to kill us. The man began again, "The way is shut. Now you must die."

Legolas rose his bow and took a shot at the man who was talking to us. It simply went straight through and made no damage at all. We all gripped out weapons a little tighter and Aragorn seemed to be the only one who wasn't worried.

"I summon you to fulfill your oath."

"None but the king of Gondor may command me!" and with that the shadow man quickly advanced towards Aragorn. Aragorn brought up his sword and parried the shadow man's blow.

"That line was broken." The shadow man stated.

"It has been remade." Aragorn said as he grabbed the shadow man's neck.

"Fight for us and regain your honor. What say you? What say you?"

It was the main shadow man who spoke first, "With out 'the one' the world will break!"

"We have the one." Aragorn countered and after a quick glance at me I let out my wings in their full size for all to see. The looks on Legolas and Gimli's faces were pure confusion.

"I see that now." The shadow man said.

"What say you?" Aragorn demanded. There was no reply and the shadow army started to fade until there was nothing there but dust. We didn't know what else to do so we sat, and waited.

I was guessing that it had been about an hour since the shadow army disappeared and the entire time we had been sitting on the dust covered floor Legolas had been staring at me. I usually enjoy just sitting in silence but it gets kind of awkward when someone is staring at you the whole time. It was starting to really annoy me so I said, "What, Legolas?"

He gave me a confused look but said nothing. "You've been staring at me for the last hour! What is it?"

"Everything." He stated flatly.

"What?" I asked. Now it was my turn to be confused.

"How did you know?" he asked after a little while.

"Know what?" I asked intently confused by his question.

"How did you know you were the chosen one and what is the chosen one?" he asked.

"It's a long story."

"We don't really have anything better to do."

"Okay" and with that I launched in to the story. I told them of everything from meeting Isildur on my first flight and again when he told me everything. There were some strange looks when I told them that Aragorn was my father but it was Gimli who spoke his concerns, "Will you tell Arwen you have a child?"

Aragorn laughed a bit before answering, "I think she knows."

"It must be hard on her knowing you had a child with someone." Legolas said sympathetically.

Gimli then directed his question at me and asked, "Who is your mother?"

Aragorn suddenly started laughing again and I looked at him. He said, "Go ahead. Tell them who your mother is."

"Are you sure you seem to be having fun?" I asked on the verge of laughter.

"Yes, tell them."

"Okay" and I began, "Actually my mother is Arwen." That caused a look of shock followed by disbelief to enter Legolas' eyes.

"When? How? What?" Legolas said all at once.

Aragorn took over for me and told them everything that Lord Elrond had told them. Everything that is except the fact that she use to have wings and what happened.


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. This chapter isn't really my favorite but the next one should be really good.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 19

It wasn't long after our conversation ended than the shadow men reappeared. This kind of made me think that they might have been listening to our conversation. It was of course the leader of the shadow men who spoke, "We will fight for you if you free us of our oaths." Then I realized he was probably the only one who could talk. He was certainly the only one who did.

"I will." Aragorn said and I could tell he was relieved.

"We were not speaking to you." He said in a careful voice, so as to not seem to disrespectful.

"What?" Aragorn asked clearly bewildered.

"We were speaking to 'the one'." Oh god. I didn't know how this would go over but I had a feeling that it was going to get very tiring being 'the one' and having people always ask for your permission to do things.

"I will." I said before anyone else had a chance to talk. I just wanted this to be over. I hate being in the center of attention.

"We will follow you to battle." He said and I actually believed that he would follow me anywhere I led them.

"Follow Aragorn for I do not know the way."

"As you say." And with that they vanished. I could not see them but I could feel their presence in the air. It made me wonder if that was because I was supposed to be in charge or if everyone could feel it.

"Where did they go now?" Gimli asked and I realized that I must be the only one who knew that they were there.

"They are still here I can feel their presence." No one questioned what I was saying and we were off. Aragorn led us back out through the tunnel we had come through. Somehow it seemed to take a lot less time to leave than it had to arrive. When we got out into the fresh air I saw the horses waiting for us. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas quickly mounted up and I released my wings and leaped into the air and into flight. We carried along the valley for a little ways longer before we came out onto a field. We rode quickly across the field towards the pale blue ribbon on the opposite side. I saw as we got closer that it was the river of Gondor. This was the river that led to Osgiliath and from there Minas Tirith. But what really caught my gaze was the sight of hundreds of black ships all sailing along towards Minas Tirith.

We reached the river sometime before noon and quickly over took the ships. We didn't do any actual fighting all there was, was a grey cloud of mist that engulf the ships and made everyone on there disappear. Iknew it was the shadow army but it was still quite unnerving. Before long we were sailing along the river. We were on the same path that the ships had been going along towards Osgiliath. We soon arrived at the docks in Osgiliath. I could see a large host of orcs waiting for the boats to dock. In the distance I could see a city of white stone, I knew that it was Minas Tirith. I could also see the ocean of black soldiers colliding with the golden warriors of Rohan. In the movies I had always assumed that they were just doing that so you could tell the armies apart but you really could tell the difference.

We drew up against the side of the dock and I heard the orcs talking and on of them said, "Late as usual, pirate scum! There's knife work here needs doing. Come on you sea rats! Get off your ships." Before we arrived we hadn't even gone over what would happen but I knew, not from the movies or the books, I just knew what would happen. After the orc yelled out his words Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli all jumped from the ship and seconds later I flew down onto the dock and we stood before them weapons raised. Aragorn started walking towards the orcs and Legolas and Gimli were not far behind with me hovering just above their heads. Gimli surveyed the host of orcs and said to Legolas, "Plenty for the both of us. May the best dwarf win." His words caused a laugh to come from Legolas but personally I just thought that it was horrible that they were counting how many people they could kill. As we grew closer to the enemy I raised a hand and behind us appeared the shadow army. The army I had previously thought was very large was now dwarfed next to the shadow army at our backs. We charged forwards and attacked. I hovered above everyone letting out arrows and taking orcs down. I was at once grateful for the quiver Gandalf had given me. At the time I hadn't noticed much but I now realized that it never emptied. No matter how many times I drew an arrow there was always one more in its place. Soon all that could be heard was the clash and clang of swords and the screams of dying people that mad me feel sick to my stomach. The shadow army soon cleared away the army at the docks and we moved onwards towards the real battle that was taking place on the fields before Minas Tirith.


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. This one is really exciting I think but it has kind of a cliff hanger so I'm going to apologize in advance.**

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 20

We burst forth onto the crowded plains and were instantly surrounded by all of the fighting. The noises were almost deafening. I flew into the air and gestured with my right hand at the clearing behind me. In an instant the shadow army was visible and they were away and fighting. Before I knew it I was being attacked ruthlessly. Everything went so fast. There were people everywhere fighting. The noise from the weapons was excruciatingly loud and I was getting caught up in all of the noise and fighting. Before I knew it I was in the heart of the battle with only Aragorn below me. I thought that I was safe because I was above the reach of the orcs and their swords but I soon found I was wrong when I was hit in the shoulder by an orc's arrow. I quickly pulled it out and I was shocked to see that the wound instantly healed and the only evidence of the wound that had been there seconds ago was a small white scar. I quickly took down the archer and silently vowed to myself that after this was over I would never again fight in a war or kill any one. More archers's started to close in on me and I took the only road I had, I killed them. Fighting had made me think even clearer about being a vegetarian and trying to preserve life.

Every arrow I let loose made me feel a little sicker and I knew it would not be long before I threw up. I couldn't let that happen so I did the only thing I could think of. I sunk down to a place in my brain where I was happy. There was only one other time I had been here. That was the night I had gotten my wings. I knew the battle still raged around me and I knew somehow in my subconscious that I was still fighting but that was my body not my soul. Were I was in my mind was my home. It was the home that I had left with Gandalf nearly three months ago. I could see it all as if I was still there. I stood before a long but slightly twisted driveway. I knew without looking that there was a single green pine tree about halfway up. The driveway was not paved it was simply two worn dips with a slight rise in the middle. The rise had a slight dusting of grass. In my mind I walked up it and before me was the blue stoned entrance. I walked towards the red front door that we rarely used and I had never really liked because it didn't match the dark blue house. I didn't really know what this place was so I did what anyone one would do when going to a house, I lifted my hand to knock on the door but right before I could touch the wood an intense and relentless pain caught me and pulled me back to the real world and the fighting. I realized that there was an arrow in my left wing. I tried to reach out and pull it out but I found I could not reach it. It was unbearable to try and flap my wings so I slowly descended towards the ground. When I landed I pulled out my sword and slowly started to fight my way over to Aragorn. I reached him and yelled above the noise, "Aragorn could you pull the arrow out of my wing!"

"It would be better if you left it in!"

"No, pull it out!" I yelled and I realized he didn't know about my healing. I turned and in a quick yet painful movement he pulled it out and within seconds the wound was healed.

"Thank you!" I yelled. I saw a look of sheer astonishment before I rose back into the air. The instant I was back in the air I was being bombarded by arrows and I fought to keep control. While struggling to avoid the arrows I saw that a small part of the shadow army was making its way towards me. I knew that they were coming to help but I was afraid that they would be too late to help. I took down a few more orcs and saw that the shadow army was almost to me. They came and took down all of the archers before I thanked them and they headed towards Aragorn and the orcs surrounding him. I took a moment to look around and saw that the orc's army was sorely depleted and that the shadow army was traveling through the white walls of the city to try and win it back. I realized then that without the shadow army we would already have been dead. We never would have made it even this far. I owed them so much more than I could truly give. Before I knew it there were more archers surrounding me. I tried to fly higher but the arrows were still reaching me.

Suddenly the arrows stopped and I looked around to see that everyone was gone. All of a sudden I was standing on my driveway back home with my hand ready to knock on the front door. I was home. But why?


	22. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. **

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 21

I looked around suddenly unsure of everything. Was I really here? Was I just imagining it all? But then it all started to fade away. Within seconds I was once again hovering above the fields before Minas Tirith. It was the same fields I knew but it was completely different. There were no soldiers, no orcs, no fighting, no death, nothing. I flew towards Minas Tirith and within moments I was within the castle walls. There was no one there. It was completely empty. _Did we lose? Did they kill everyone?_ I was so confused and I didn't know what to do. In the distance I could hear a steady beat like that of horses. But to be that loud there must have been hundreds. Then it hit me; they were marching to Mordor to draw out the orcs and allow Frodo and Sam passage through Mordor to the volcano.

I quickly flew towards the sound of horses and I soon came across the army of men. I looked to the front of the army and saw everyone, everyone except Aragorn. I looked everywhere for him and didn't see him anywhere. I was hit with a horrible pang of sadness when I considered that he didn't make it but I knew he must have. I flew to the front of the army and began my descent when I saw a bow raise at me and a single bolt let out hitting me in the chest. I quickly lowered myself to the ground and pulled the arrow from my chest. The wound quickly healed but there was now a small hole in the front of my shirt and it was covered in blood. I went so stand up and saw a sword inches from my face. I stopped instantly and heard a voice that almost mad me weep with relief, it was Aragorn. "Who are you?"

"I'm your daughter, you moron!" I yelled out before pushing his sword away and getting to my feet. As soon as I was stood up I felt slightly dizzy and there were black spots in my vision. Aragorn took one look at me and swept me up in a hug. I had never really liked hugs or anything like that because I have severe personal space issues but it wasn't actually that bad.

"I was so worried. We didn't find your body and I was afraid they had taken you captive." Aragorn said while still holding me close.

"Okay time to let go!" I said and realized my pack of personal space issues only lasted a second.

"Sorry." He said before leading me over to the others. When we reached them I was immediately drawn into hugs by both Gimli and Gandalf. Both Merry and Pippin both gave me big smiles and Legolas wore a frown on his face. He did not give me time to consider why before he started talking, "I'm so sorry. Are you alright? For once I wish I had horrible aim!"

"I'm fine!"

"How can you be I saw my arrow hit its mark and there is blood all over your shirt!" He exclaimed before pointing at my torn and extremely bloody shirt. I pulled the shirt a little to show him the now faint silver scar on my chest. Legolas gasped in shock but quickly recovered and smiled. "I'm glad you are okay."

I gave him a big smile before returning to stand next to Aragorn.

Everyone galloped towards the large black gates that dominated the landscape. I followed behind them flying slowly so as to not feel dizzy. I realized then why I had not recognized Aragorn. He looked very different in real armor rather than the ranger clothes I had only ever seen him in before then. He looked very much like the king he was in those moments. As we got closer a single figure could be seen above the gates. A tall man with pure black wings was standing just atop the gates. It seemed that I was not the only one to see this because I just barely caught Aragorn whispering something to Legolas. Legolas lifted his bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver. I flew to him in an instance. "No, that's Isildur." As soon as the words were out of my mouth I launched myself into the air and headed towards the figure atop the gate.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned Isildur as soon as I reached him.

"It's time for you to play your part in this war." He said in a slightly ominous voice.

"What?!" I gasped. I was really starting to get annoyed at the fact that people say things like that and then just stop talking and don't explain anymore.

"Kin of kin and enemy alike shall heal the broken, bring back the lost, and renew the broken balance. It is time for you to accept your true power." With that he lightly brushed my wings. I realized in that instant that it was the first time anyone had ever touched my wings. It tingled a bit and caused me to shiver slightly. I looked up at Isildur but he was gone. _Does that man even know how to say good bye or does he enjoy just disappearing?!_

I started to fly back towards the others but about half way there the tingling and shivers started again as if someone was toughing my wings. I even looked behind me to see if Isildur had reappeared but there was no one near me. Then a sudden burst of pain lanced through my wings and I started to plummet towards the earth. It didn't take long for me to hit the ground. It wasn't as hard of a landing as I thought it would be but I think that had something to do with Gandalf. I stood for only a second before my body was seized by a wave of pure agony. I fell to the ground and curled into a ball trying to fight the excruciating pain. I couldn't even pull together any thoughts. I felt something grab me and I don't know how but somehow I knew it was wrong so I fought. I did everything I could to get free and soon the feeling was gone and I was alone.

I had never felt more alone in my life than I did at that moment and then it was all gone and I was floating in darkness. I could see strings everywhere. There were two large ones, one was black and the other was black. All around were significantly smaller strings. Some were twisted together others were by themselves. I reach out and barely brush a single dark red tread and some how I know that it's Gimli. I can't see or hear him but I can feel him. Next I touch a pale blue one and I find that this one is Legolas. The light blue some how makes sense in my mind. The next one I touch is dark green. This one is defiantly Aragorn and it is twisted with a pale purple one that I assume is Arwen. I touch it but I still can't tell. I think it has something to do with the fact that I haven't met her. There are slight flecks of white in both of their threads which puzzles me a bit but I soon push those thoughts from my mind. Some how the thicker strands seem closer to me and I reach out and graze the black one. _Isildur?_ Why his string is thicker confuses me but before my thoughts could continue they were gone. My arm barely brushed the white strand and I was gone, lost in the endless black darkness.

I slowly regained my consciousness and saw that Aragorn was standing over me with a stunned expression on his face. My face scrunched into a bewildered expression as Legolas also came over to gape at me.

"What?"

"You suddenly fell from the sky! Gandalf was able to make your landing softer but you just fell over and curled into a ball. Then all of a sudden you were gone. You completely disappeared. It wasn't that you turned invisible, you were gone. We felt around but we couldn't find you but then you suddenly appeared right here in front of me." His words caused me to open my mouth and it just hung open like that as I remembered what was happening to me as they witnessed all of this. It didn't take long for Legolas to ask, "What happened?"

"I will explain later but we have more important things to do now." I said, standing and glancing towards the black gates that towered over the surrounding landscape. We were quite a ways from the others and both Legolas and Aragorn were with their horses so I with drew my wings. I didn't remember pulling them in but a lot of strange things had been happening. As I pulled them out I felt the tingling sensation again and feared that more pain would appear so I stood still for a second. Nothing happened so I looked up and saw Aragorn and Legolas looking at me in shock once again.

"What?!" _Why was everyone constantly staring at me? _

Legolas was the first to recover from his shock of course, "What happened to your wings?"

"What?" I said again this time truly confused. I looked over my shoulder and was shocked to see that they were now a pure white color with tints of silver on the tips. That was when it hit me. The white strand was me. When I touched it I was brought back to myself. That also explained the flecks of white in both Aragorn and Arwen's strands. It was me. Bits of me were imbedded in their souls.


	23. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. **

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 22

My thoughts were quickly drawn back to the real world as the gates opened and a massive army was revealed to us. It dwarfed our cluster of soldiers. It seemed like only seconds before the orcs were upon us and we were fighting for our lives. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw a black figure flying swiftly towards us. Legolas once again raised his bow and let out an arrow. It flew at Isildur and even my scream didn't make it in time but the arrow didn't hit him. It bounced off of an invisible wall and headed right back towards Legolas. I stretched my wings and sped towards Legolas but as I got there it struck him in the chest and once again I was pulled into the darkness. Once again I was standing in a field of threads but this time my eyes saw only one thing. The pale blue thread I knew was Legolas was severed. It was floating farther and farther apart. Without thinking I reached out and grabbed the two ends of the thread. I forced them together but nothing happened. It remained severed and the ends started to pull apart again. It took all of my strength to hold them together. Suddenly beside me was a ball of white string. Holding the two pieces together I grabbed the ball with my other hand and found the end. Pulling it caused it to start to unravel and I soon had a length of thread about a foot long. I quickly wrapped it around the two ends of thread and watched as it held them together for a second before fading into Legolas' thread leaving only a slight white mark. I quickly reached out to touch my white thread and then in a blur I was back on the battle field with Legolas standing in front of me with an expression of pure astonishment on his face.

"I saw it all." he whispered causing me to wonder if he was talking to me or just whispering to himself. I was brought back to reality by a hand grabbing one of my wings and pulling. I heard a crack and screamed as the pain shot through my wing. The pain was promptly gone but before I had time to get my attacker Legolas had already pulled back to his usual self and killed the orc. He looked questioningly at me but before he could say anything I whispered, "I'll explain everything later." In an instant I had stretched my wings out to their full length and leaped into the sky. I immediately moved to where Isildur was. He was facing the opposite direction so I flew closer and then hit a barrier. There was some sort of wall around him that stopped anything or anyone to get close. I pushed harder and forced my way through the wall. As soon as I gave the push that forced me through the wall Isildur fell. He started to drop and without thinking I swooped down and grabbed him before he could hit the ground. As soon as I touched him he opened his eyes and flew back up out of the range of arrows.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" He yelled outraged and I flinched back as an unexpected force hit me. It momentarily winded me but then I looked up at him and he glared causing me to feel the same force hit me and I unconsciously brought a barrier up around me.

I glared back at him and replied in a similar tone, "WHAT? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ATTACKED ME!"

"YEAH BECAUSE YOU HAD TO FORCE YOURSELF THROUGH MY SHEILD!" He yelled.

With that I smiled some what sheepishly at him before saying, "Oh sorry about that I didn't know how to get through so I decided to push through it. It seemed to work."

"Of course it worked your more powerful than me so therefore my shield couldn't stop you. Your shield could stop me though." He said as if I should have known this before.

"I didn't know this!"

"Oh sorry my dear I forget that you no nothing of Iriels. Now is not the time for that though. It is time for you to help."

"What is it you want me to do?" I asked hesitantly fearing his answer.

"You must save us all." He said in a voice I had only ever heard Gandalf use.

I looked up at him giving my best what-are-you-talking-about look.

"You must stop Frodo from destroying the ring." He said calmly.

"WHAT?!" I yelled once again confused by the man in front of me.

"If Frodo drops the ring into the mountain then the world will be torn apart by the darkness that is unleashed." He said this time letting a little bit of fear into his words.

"What must I do?"

"Find Frodo then follow your instincts. Only you know what will happen." As soon as the last words left his mouth he was suddenly gone. I somehow knew that there wasn't time to tell anyone so I hurried to find Frodo.

I found Frodo fighting against Gollum to reach the mountain. Without even thinking I found my ball of yarn and seized the end, pulling I withdrew a small strand which instantly curled into a smaller ball. I threw this ball with all of my might and it hit Gollum causing him to disappear. Frodo stood there a second before looking around. Sam was lying unconscious a little ways down the hill and I hovered briefly above his body to ensure he was fine. Frodo took one look at me and passed out.

I quickly switched to the shadow realm where I saw that there were now only four strands. Brushing against a darkish blue one I saw that it was Sam. The white one I knew was mine so I didn't bother inspecting it. There was also a grey strand only slightly thinner than mine. Brushing against that one told me it was Sauron. I hadn't met him but you could tell from the evil radiating off of it that it could be no other. The last thread was one I could tell use to be a rich gold but the color was being drained from it and replaced with grey. This was Frodo's strand. Grabbing his strand with both hands I forced my string to wrap around the entire thing and absorb all of the grey. As soon as Frodo's strand was back to its real color I wrapped the contaminated string around Sauron's grey one. When they were completely intertwined I grabbed onto it and pulled. My ball of yarn slowly unraveled it's self and wrapped around my hands. With it all around I was able to tear Sauron's string in half. As soon as it was broken it vanished. It showed me that he didn't expect to die and didn't fight against it as Legolas had. The strings from around my hands quickly dissolved into my skin leaving no hint that they had ever been there.

In an instant I was back in the real world and saw that Mount Doom was starting to explode. I assume it had something to do with the fact that it was the foundation for most of Sauron's magic. Lava started to flow down the sides of the mountain so I swiftly moved the two unconscious figures onto a tall rock. Unsure of what to do I flew up into the air and flew towards the black gates. Before I could get far I saw Gandalf riding astride a giant eagle and several others following close behind. They swooped down and grabbed the two figures before flying back towards Minas Tirith.


	24. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. **

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

Chapter 23

I was back in the shadow realm. I don't know when and how I came to be here but now that I am I see that there are little grey strands everywhere. These strands are clinging to any other threads that they can find and as soon as they find one the other starts to get corrupted like Frodo's was. In the center there is a grey ball that is releasing the smaller threads. I quickly grabbed my ball of yarn and grabbed a bit of string the second it was away from the ball it burst into flame. I rolled the flames into a ball. I threw the ball of flames with all of my might at the grey ball of thread. As soon as they made contact the grey ball exploded. The grey strands were still everywhere so slowly I went to every strand and wrapped them with my threads. My ball slowly got smaller and smaller until there was only a single thread left. Looking around I saw that the only grey threads left were wrapped around my thread. Unsure of how I would do this I stood there for a second just staring at the thick strand before me. All of the other times I had touched my strand it had brought me back to the real world_. How do I cure myself? _Careful not to touch the string I wound part of my magic around it and watched as it absorbed all of the grey magic. As soon as it had all of the grey magic I carefully removed it from my strand and it burst into flame; destroying it completely. The instant that it had been entirely incinerated I was pulled into darkness.

I was pulled back to the real world by a bright light. I fluttered my eyes open but instantly closed them again because of the bright light. Carefully opening them again I adjusted to the light. I was lying in a bright room made entirely out of stone. That fact alone assured me that I was in Minas Tirith. Thinking back all I could remember was flying towards Minas Tirith and then the fight with Sauron's magic but other than that there was nothing. Looking around the room I saw that it's only furnishings were the small bed I was lying on and a chair that held the sleeping form of Aragorn. I shifted slightly in the bed and Aragorn's eyes flashed open and he looked over at me. With eyes full of concern he gasped before pulling me into a hug. This was different from some of the hugs I had shared with him I could almost feel the relief and under laying concern rolling off of him in waves. I pulled away slightly and looked at him before asking, "What's wrong?"

"I was so worried about you." He said and I could see the slight forming of tears in his eyes.

"I'm fine. Why were you so worried?"

He gasped and then looked at me with fear in his eyes. "You don't remember anything." His words where more of a statement than a question.

"No."

"Essa you fell out of the sky and vanished. We couldn't find you anywhere and then you just fell out of no where in front of Legolas. You were unconscious. I was scared out of mind. We got back here and found out that your leg was broken. It didn't heal. As far as I know it is still broken. You wouldn't wake up. You have been asleep for thirteen days." He said all of this to me wit ha frown very prominent on his face.

I held out my hand and pulled my magic to me expecting it to come but the ball did not come there was nothing. "My thread. It's gone. My thread is gone."

Aragorn looked at me with eyes full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be back." I said before switching into the shadow realm. When I got there I immediately ran over to the thick black strand and wrapped my fingers around it, calling out to Isildur. Nothing happened so I returned to the real world expecting to be back in the bed but instead I was standing in front of Legolas. He looked at me with nothing less than shock on his face. He started to say something and I knew he was going to ask either why I was there or where I came from so I cut him off, "I'm not sure why I'm here but do you know which room I was in before."

He looked me up and down to assure I was alright before saying, "Yes, actually I was just coming to see if you were awake yet. But now that I see you are I will help you back." I nodded at him once before taking a step forward. All it took was a single step for pain to lance up my leg, causing my vision to blur a bit and my knees to buckle out from under me. Legolas caught me just before I hit the ground and scooped me up in his arms. I heard footsteps come around the corner and then a familiar voice speaking, "What happened?"

Legolas answered while still watching my face, "She broke her leg and tried to walk on it."

"When did she break it?" the familiar voice asked.

"Almost two weeks ago."

"It's still broken?!" the voice said with fear very evident. Those were the words that caused Legolas to look up and ask, "Who are you?"

"All in time but now I need to take her somewhere safe!" he said in a very insulting voice.

Legolas was outraged by those words and it seemed that they had both forgotten that I was even aware of their conversation. "She isn't safe with her friends and family?!" He asked outraged.

"Is her mother here?" he asked carefully.

"No, just her father!" he sounded calmer but you could still here a bit of the under lying rage.

"Fine, where is he?"

"This way." Legolas said before walking off with me still in his arms.


	25. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a review. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. **

**Review and you'll get a preview!**

**This chapter is dedicated to my cousins Jake and Luke who's actions in real life inspired this whole story!**

Chapter 24

We entered the room to see Aragorn staring very intently at where I had been laying before. Legolas let out a little cough and Aragorn's head whipped around to look at us. I could tell the instant he spotted me because he rushed over. "What happened?" he gasped the worry evident in his eyes.

"She tried to walk on her broken leg." Legolas said before walking over to the bed and setting me down on it. I shifted slightly and winced as the pain returned but not nearly as bad as before. Legolas and Aragorn walked over to the side of the bed and I heard Aragorn whisper, "Who is he?"

Legolas just glanced at me before answering, "He saw us in the corridor and seemed to know who Essa was and what she was so I let him follow us."

Aragorn turned to the other man and asked simply, "Who are you?"

Before the other man could even open his mouth I told them, "This is Isildur." My words earned a gasp from both Aragorn and Legolas and a slight chuckle from Isildur. I could see the questioning in both of their eyes but before they could speak Isildur was questioning me, "He said you broke your leg what happened?" I explained to him everything I remembered as well as everything that Aragorn had told me.

"I need to do something to make sure you are okay." He said lightly before reaching behind me almost in a hug but not quite and rubbing my back. I wasn't sure what he was doing but it didn't hurt so I let him continue. After a bit I started to feel my wings coming out and I realized what he wanted so I started to withdraw them but his words stopped me, "No, just relax." So I did. It didn't take much longer before my wings were entirely out and they started to retract again. He grabbed one gently to stop it before leaning over to me and whispering, "I'm sorry." Then in a single movement he pulled one of the feathers from my wings. Pain lanced through my wings, even worse than what I had felt earlier when I tried to walk. I can't tell you from experience but I think this is what it would feel like if someone tore off one of your fingernails. I let out a scream of pure agony and my vision went black. I knew I wasn't unconscious because I could hear Aragorn and Legolas yelling at him. I blinked a few times and was relieved to know that the pain was completely gone. It had hurt a lot but luckily it wasn't a lingering pain.

"I'm fine." I said drawing all of their eyes back to me.

"What do you mean your fine!?!" Aragorn roared.

"I'm fine. I can't even feel it now." Looking at Isildur I continued, "Would you mind telling me what made that necessary?"

"Sorry, child." He said softly, "I needed to find out if you were okay."

Before I could question that Legolas started, "and causing her pain accomplished this how?"

Isildur just looked him in the eyes and asked calmly, "Did any of your diagnostic spells work?"

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?" he asked clearly annoyed.

"She is an Iriel. Your magic wont work on her. The only way to find out about an Iriels health is to let her feather tell you. Therefore I needed one." Then turning to me she said, "I also need some of your magic."

Looking at him I said, "That's the problem, it's gone!"

"No it isn't, child."

"Look" was all I said before holding out my hand and calling my magic. The ball of yarn didn't appear all that appeared was an empty sphere. This was completely new but Isildur seemed to know what it was so I didn't question him. He let out a single whispered, 'no' before disappearing. I sighed and mumbled, "not again" before looking over at Aragorn and Legolas who were both staring at me with mouths wide open. I quickly explained to them about Isildur, telling them everything I knew.

Silently, Isildur appeared before us. Beside him was a tall woman with dark brown wavy hair and large blue eyes. Surprisingly, Aragorn seemed to know her because he ran over to her and pulled her into a tender kiss. Then it hit me_, this was Arwen. This was my mother. _Looking at her again it suddenly all made sense, my cousins use to tell me I looked like Arwen in the movies and even called me Liv after Liv Tyler for awhile. I actually looked a lot like her. We had the same hair and I even had her pale skin. Pulling away from Aragorn she saw me and rushed over, immediately pulling me into a hug. This was an uncomfortable hug but I could tell she needed it because the love was almost rolling off of her.


	26. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

**AN: SORRY! I HAVEN'T POSTED IN A LONG TIME! I HAD LOST MY INSPIRATION BUT NOW IT'S BACK! UNFORTUNATLY THERE WILL BE ONLY A FEW MORE CHAPTERS AFTER THIS ONE! I would like to thank anyone who reviews. I really appreciate it thank you! Please Read and Review! I'm really glad that all of you like my story! Even if you're reading this in 20 years I still want a review. Anonymous are good too but you won't get a preview. Sorry for all of this talk of reviews but I haven't really gotten many and it is making me depressed. **

Chapter 25

Arwen pulled away to look me in the face and said, "What happened?" Looking over at Isildur he nodded his head and I held my hand out, calling my powers. The empty sphere appeared again and Arwen took one look at before letting out a whispered, "no!" before she grabbed my hand and we disappeared. We reappeared in the dark before bubbles of light slowly started to appear all around us. I glanced over at Arwen to see her face contorted in concentration.

"Where are we?" I asked eagerly.

"This is the soul plane." she said calmly before walking towards a large white bubble and continuing, "This is you." She pointed at the large white bubble. Without thinking I mumbled, "The shadow realm."

She looked at me strangely and asked, "What?" I simply grabbed her hand as she had before and we moved to the shadow realm. I instantly walked over towards the thick white strand that was me. I looked back at Arwen just in time to see her reach out and touch a pale purple thread wrapped around a dark green one. "No don't touch that!" I yelled but I was too late and she had already disappeared. I ran to my thread and quickly grasped it. I was instantly back in my room only this time it was just me, Legolas, and Isildur.

"Did Arwen come here?" I asked quickly.

Isildur just looked at me confused before responding, "No, Why?"

"Because she touched her own strand and now I need to find her."

"Ah, she will have gone to her anchor. The one place she will return no matter what, the thing that links her back here. Do you know what or who it is?" Isildur asked.

At the exact same time both me and Legolas said, "Aragorn!" But before I could go to find Arwen she burst into the room as soon as she saw me she smiled and said casually, "I take it that I touched my own." I just nodded before taking her hand and pulling us back into the shadow realm.

Once we reappeared in the shadow realm Arwen immediately moved towards my pure white strand. That was when it hit me. The strand wasn't pure white anymore it was more of a pale grey now. Sauron's power had corrupted mine. Arwen quickly set to work running her hands along my strand. It gave me a strange tingling sensation and made all of the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Before long she had gathered a small ball of dark threads and my thread was once again a pure white.

We quickly returned to the normal world where we were at once faced with countless questions by the three men in the room. We sat down and explained it all to them but as the explanation continued the conversation grew as we answered more and more of Aragorn and Legolas's questions that started to stray from the point. It wasn't long before Éowyn barged into the room and whisked me away claiming we had to get ready for the ball that was being held in my families honor. We had to search the castle high and low to find a dress that would fit me but in the end we were able to find one that while it was still too big didn't overly hang off of me like most would.


	27. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings. 

**AN: This chapter was one of the first ones I wrote so I hope you all really like it. Please before you start to read this go on Google videos, type in Love Story by Taylor Swift and listen to it while reading this. I usually don't base chapters on songs but this was actually a dream I had when I fell asleep listening to that song. Please Read and Review. It is kind of sad how few reviews I have gotten. Well any ways back to the point here it is hope you all like it.**

Chapter 26 

"You are young you should be out there having fun! Maybe you'll meet a man! If you do you have to tell me everything." Demanded my mother. I had only known her for a few days and the moment I saw her I could see the similarities between us. We both had the same curly dark brown hair and people had told me I had her nose.

"Fine I'll go talk with Éowyn." I said before heading towards her through the packed ball room. As I neared her I saw that she was talking with Faramir one of the handsomest men in the room. Well she was the most beautiful woman in the room and I could see why all of the single men were near her. She was wearing a midnight blue gown with a full skirt and gold beading on the bodice. The dress next to her long golden hair looked stunning. She was by far more beautiful than I in only a borrowed maroon empire waist gown that was quite simple and flowed down to my feet. It was too big on me like all clothes. My hair was left down in loose curls down my back because I had not taken the time to do anything with it.

I stood with Éowyn for a while. But I got very hot so I went out to the balcony to breathe some of the fresh summer air. I stood there for a while just seeing the ball gowns, the lights, and the party. It was quite nice just standing there but then I saw him. He was making his way across the room towards me. He was tall well everyone is tall to me but I would say he was something like six foot. He had shoulder length pale blond hair. He was wearing a simple silver tunic and slightly darker breeches. He looked like a prince in everyway

He made his way over to me and introduced himself, "Hello, I haven't seen you around before are you new?"

"Yes, I came the other day with the troops from Rohan." I replied because I didn't want to tell him of my parents and be forced to see his reaction. It is very hard having a king and queen as your parents.

"Were you fighting? A woman like yourself!" He replied and I could tell from his expression that he was shocked.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" I asked slightly outraged.

"No of course not you must be very brave. Oh and by the way my name is Legolas." He replied honestly with a slanted smile. After hearing is name I had to fight to hold back laughter.

"Oh well thank you, Legolas. My name is Essandora but you can call me Essa. Just incase you have forgotten I have been traveling with you for a few months." I replied slightly confused by him.

"Wow, you look so different I truly didn't recognize you! Would you like to take a walk with me in the garden?" He asked graciously.

"I would love too."

We went out into the garden and he pulled me into a little cove in the hedge and sat beside me on a small white bench. We chatted easily about non consequential things before he leaned over to me and was about to kiss me when one of the most awkward event's that has ever happened to had to happen. My father came around the corner with my mother's hand in his.

I could tell he was shocked and immediately started talking in a very firm and demanding voice, "Essadora go inside now! You sir I need to have a conversation with!" He said when he saw Legolas about to kiss me. My mother was leading me away when I heard Aragorn yelling at Legolas, "You will stay away from my daughter from now on if you know what's good for you!"

I was also able to hear Legolas' reply before I was whisked back into the ball room, "Come on Aragorn! We have been friends forever! "

I immediately tore my self from my mother and headed up to my room where I sat crying on the staircase just out side of my door. My room was at the top of a small winding staircase so I knew no one would hear me here. This had all been new to me and it ended horribly. I have never had a boyfriend and I was excited that I found someone who understood me. He had been about to kiss me, my first kiss but no, the father I had only had for about a month decided to be all, keep away from my daughter and the worst part was that when Legolas had tried to argue with Legolas therefore meaning that there was no way Aragorn would let us be together. I knew I shouldn't be mad at my mother because she hadn't said anything but I was still angry and I wasn't really sure why.

I was just lying there on the stone steps when I heard a knocking on the window in my bedroom so I went into my room and went over to see that it was pebbles being thrown from the ground. I immediately went out onto my balcony and saw that there below me was Legolas throwing little pebbles at my window. My heart beat was so loud I was sure he must have been able to hear it from down there. He yelled up to me, "Essa, meet me I the apple orchard." I quickly went to my mirror to make sure he wouldn't be able to tell I had been crying. I saw to my relief that you could not tell.

So I snuck out to the garden to see him. I went through the side door so not be seen exiting the ballroom. There he was in the middle of the apple orchard waiting for me. As soon as he saw me he ran over and said, "I don't know if you heard what you I said to Aragorn but if you did just know that it true I can't stop seeing you. I have never met anyone I connected to like you. I don't care if you're a princess as long as I can be with you. I wanted you to know that but now we should go because we don't want your father to get suspicious."

"Please, don't go!" I said a little too loudly.

"We have to keep quiet. But don't worry I will find a way to see you no matter what." He said and I could see in his eyes that he truly meant it.

I headed back to my room with a kind of happiness I had never known inside of me. I was in my room for only a few minutes before I heard someone at the door and saw that it was my mother. She entered and instantly started to talk, "Essa, I don't know what got into your father tonight but I can promise you that I will talk to him. So now that that is done tell me about this boy."

I looked at her shocked but I knew I shouldn't have been because ever since I first met her knowing she was my mother we had instantly bonded and she was now one of my best friends. I never really thought that that would be possible but we were able to talk about just about everything.

"Well I had I had left Éowyn and I was standing on the balcony getting some fresh air when I saw him coming across the room towards me. He came over and said hello and he asked if I was new and I said that I came with the troops from Rohan and I could tell he was surprised and then he introduced himself and I told him my name and he invited me for a walk outside. It turned out we had known each other for so long but neither of us recognized the other at first. We walked thought the gardens for a while just talking and then we sat down on the bench and talked for a little longer when he leaned over to kiss me and you know the rest because that was when you and Aragorn came over."

"Don't be upset with your father he was only trying to protect you."

"I'm eighteen I don't need protecting I need space. I've never even had a first kiss but I've fought in a battles. I think he's trying to protect me from the wrong things!" I replied and I could feel the heat rising in me as I started to get angry. I don't have much of a temper and I'm usually pretty excepting of everything but when my temper does come out I have been told it is something to be afraid of.

"I know but Aragorn feels he hasn't protected you enough and now he needs to make up for it by never letting you get heart by anything or anyone, not even a boy."

"Oh…" was all I could say before I felt my anger leaving along with guilt. I was so angry with him and he was just trying to be a good father. I didn't have much to say but when I heard a knock on the door I knew it was him and I closed my eyes for a second and let the memories run through my mind, the first night in Fangorn forest when he had given me the cloak, weapons, and made me a bed. When we got to Edoras and he protected me from all of the men in Théoden's hall. When he had left to fight on the way to Helms Deep and how I had cried for one of the first times since being in Middle-Earth. How happy I had been when he came back. When I told him how I fought in the battle at Helms Deep and how easily he accepted it but admitted to how worried he had been. He had done all of this and much more and I knew I needed to apologize for over reacting so I went over to the door to let him in. He saw me and without delay began, "I'm so sorry I know your old enough that you can make your own decisions but I wanted to protect you and…"

I stopped him and said, "I'm sorry!"

"I should leave you two alone now." Arwen said before leaving us to talk.

"You have nothing to apologize for!" He said quickly before I could say anything.

"But you have always been so good to me and I have never really thanked you!" I replied on the verge of tears.

"Everything I have done was for you and I do not regret but no matter how much I do I will never make up for the fact that I missed eighteen years of your life."

I then told him of all the memories I had been remembering before and told him that my life never really started until the day I came to Middle-Earth. A single tear ran down my cheek and before I was able to wipe it away he cupped my chin with one hand and wiped my tear away and said in a soft voice, "I love you, Essa. You are my daughter and no matter what I will be here for you, please remember that for me, even if you want to be with Legolas, who could be your grandfather."

With a smile I leaped upon him and gave him an enormous hug, "Thank you!"

The End

AN: Okay I hope you all liked my story. I have also started to write a few other ones so if you liked this one then check them out. One is based off of Harry Potter and the other is based on Torchwood. There will not be a sequel to this story!


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